Arséma Thomas: ‘Being a storyteller is not enough’

Arséma Thomas is named after a saint.

There are several stories surrounding Hripsime’s martyrdom, but in any case, her name is revered for her sacrifice in upholding her beliefs.

In her stage debut, Thomas has returned to London, where she studied, to play a different saint. Chiara Atik’s Poor Clare retells the meeting of Clare of Assisi and Francis of Assisi (played by Freddy Carter), and the subsequent founding of the Order of the Poor Ladies, a dedication to holiness and poverty.

Thomas explains that playing Clare has “been a beautiful therapeutic thing that has allowed me to also come into myself in a very different way.” Taking a short break from rehearsals, on a hot day in Richmond, she continues, “Somehow, I’ve only had really intense connections with every character that I’ve played… I’ll always bring it to a place that makes sense for me.”

After reading the text, the performer realised that the written character mimicked her life, strangely enough, to a T. “It’s almost ridiculous how many parallels there are,” they elaborate, “In Clare’s family, it’s Clare, her mother, and her sister, and that’s it, which is very similar to my family because for both of us, our fathers have died.”

And, perhaps, above all: “There is this very intense need for justice and equality that I think runs as the foundation and tempo for both of us.”

Thomas, who shot to stardom in the Bridgerton spin-off Queen Charlotte, has many strings to her bow. She’s an academic, an activist, and an artist, with the activism always a priority.

“I think that the only way that acting for me is purposeful is if it is not really about me, but about the impact it can achieve. That gives it so much more longevity than if I just wanted to be a storyteller,” they explain, “Which is not to knock on anyone for that being their reason. But for me, that’s just not enough.”

She opens up, confessing: “I remember having a very intense conversation with my mother because I wanted to join a convent.” It was at a time in her life when she thought very strongly that it would be the best thing for her. “I felt like I needed to remove myself from society because I just cannot accept what is going on.”

Her work, impressive, important, and impactful, includes empowering women, providing refugees with a marketplace platform to sell goods, and promoting worldwide public health—a direct response to her experiences growing up in multiple countries and speaking multiple languages.

Thomas and her character share similar skeletons, motivations, and intentions. She explains, “For both of us, once we see something, it’s very difficult to unsee it,” admitting that her lived experiences form a huge part of who she is and the roles she plays.

She, however, feels much more “combative” in approach than Clare, who is perhaps more “kind and joyous” in opposed to her “rigid, edgy and angsty” nature. Admittedly, we only chat over video for half an hour, but I see more of the way she describes Clare in that time window than the way she describes herself.

And perhaps that’s where the problem lies, with people like me. Saints are held in such high regard that they feel so otherworldly and so nonhuman, instead a portrayal of perfection. We (read: I) may hold screen stars just like Thomas, who seems so cool and collected, to the same standards.

Clare, on the surface, is posh. She enjoys wearing nice clothes and having nice things. In that sense, the fictionalised version is very accessible for modern audiences, compared to the founder of the order. But both are products of their time. The historical figure was born into a space where there were little to no opportunities for women.

Thomas insists that “there is a bit of Clare in all of us.” Something she thinks is important. “The moment that you can see yourself in someone else, it allows you to create a different future for yourself. It allows you to imagine something else, something even greater because you know that someone just like you, just as conflicted as you, just as confused as you, was able to create something massive in history.”

Women today are living with the feeling of “needing to be perceived and portrayed in a certain way to be valued,” Thomas explains, “to do anything other than that would be to almost just accept a life of invisibility and a life of dehumanisation.”

In response, Clare “recognises the fact that the world is built to make it easier to be complacent with inequality,” Thomas continues, “and that is something that conflicts so greatly with her spirit.”

For those unfamiliar, the Saint fought a lifelong battle in which she removed everything that fed into that very idea and, in turn, provided an alternative to a growing group of women. Or as Thomas declared more frankly: “Making sure that everybody knows there’s an alternative to this whole rat race we’ve all been put in.”

While the topics covered are heavy, Poor Clare is a comedy. It’s one of those pieces of writing that isn’t funny in an attempt to be funny, the performer clarifies; rather, it is an inspection of people. “It’s just that sometimes we are funny people. Humans are a very funny species. The comedy creates this beautiful balance,” Thomas confirms.

It’s “comforting” to take on the role of Clare, the performer says: “She just edifies the idea of optimism and an alternative to the way things are… especially when you think of wanting to create a new type of world and especially in the political climate that is here today, in the play, there’s a new way of having hope.”

In an age where there are hit stage shows like Hamilton and Six, and with new reiterations like Anne Boleyn The Musical on the horizon, alongside programmes like Bridgerton making period dramas cool again, fictionalised versions of these historical figures are becoming ingrained into popular culture. All of them, so far, have focused on relatively well-known people, but Clare is a little more “niche.”

“It’ll be very interesting to see how many people then go and do the research on her, and see what she was able to accomplish,” Thomas says, “Especially as a woman of her time, and then be able to use that as a framework for themselves.”

For Thomas, playing the role marks a part of her history. “It almost felt like there was no other option than to make my stage debut in London. It was just a matter of when and where,” she says, talking passionately about UK theatre culture and the opportunities given to new writing in smaller spaces. Significantly, it’s the first time she’ll perform in front of an audience and run a full show chronologically rather than dipping in and out of takes on a set. It has made her journey with Clare all the more linear. Once again, the character and performer run in parallel.