Chiara

Flashmob in medieval square in feminist musical about revolutionary saint Clare of Assisi’s miraculous struggle.

After Nico 1988 (GFF 2018) and Miss Marx, the Italian maximalist Susanna Nicchiarelli tackles another icon: Saint Clare of Assisi who founds a monastic order in early-thirteenth-century Umbria. As a teenager, she runs away from her aristocratic family and joins Francis of Assisi and his mendicant monks, and soon she gathers “Clares” in her own order. In Margherita Mazzucco’s (My Brilliant Friend) brilliant portrayal, Clare debates Bible passages, performs miracles and angers cardinals and popes in Rome. With a wonderful mix of genres, Nicchiarelli combines a low-key storytelling with wonderfully funky musical elements.

• Jonas Holmberg