The play aims to explore the figure of Francis of Assisi through his radical choices and spirituality, analyzing the enduring legacy of his life eight centuries after his death. The play seeks to move beyond the stereotypical portrayals found in art and cinema, returning to the roots of sacred drama and medieval mystery, and offering a contemporary interpretation that goes beyond a mere apologetic function.
The Narrative Journey
The narrative focuses on the saint’s final stay at La Verna, a period marked by crisis, solitude, and doubt. The play follows Francis’s journey from the time of his ordeal and the reception of the stigmata through his return to Assisi, his encounter with Clare, and the composition of the Canticle of the Creatures, concluding with his final surrender to God on the evening of November 3, 1226.
The production is structured around the rhythm of five medieval mysteries, framed by a prologue and an epilogue. The story is filtered through the eyes of Friar Leone, Francis’s confidant and author of one of the earliest chronicles of the life of the “Poverello,” a figure who also bears witness to his bond with Clare, whose modernity is explored against the backdrop of the past.
