A dark comedy about who gets to define the truth
Elena Mazzon’s The Popess: Instructions for Freedom resurrects the true story of a rebellious, spiritual and very feminist movement. The show focuses on ‘The Guglielmites’, a religious group that believed women were the only hope for the salvation of mankind.
They were convinced that a woman named Guglielma was the Holy Spirit incarnate, her life constituted a ‘Third Testament’ and furthermore that she would usher in a “renewed” age of Christianity after her Second Coming.
The movement was visionary, challenging the established Church and its misogynistic norms, which were heavily influenced by men and wealth.
Just before Guglielma died in 1281, she appointed a nun called Maifreda da Piovano as her “Popess”. Maifreda performed mass on Easter Sunday, 1300, attracting the attention of the Inquisition. The choice of date was considered exceptionally unwise, being a holy day in the holy jubilee year (the first ever celebration of this kind, which the Catholic Church still celebrates every 25 years to this day). Both Guglielma and Maifreda were eventually condemned by the Church; Guglielma’s bones were disinterred and burned, and many of her devotees, including Maifreda, were executed for heresy.
Elena Mazzon plays Everywoman, a naive but searching soul who finds herself caught between fear, faith and the desire for something more. Representing the journey of any one of us searching for meaning and truth, she encounters Sister Maifreda and her radical followers, and she is swept up in a forbidden vision of salvation led by women; enamoured by the unprecedented attempt to place women at the centre of religious authority. But as the movement grows, so too does the scrutiny of the Church – and its appetite for punishment.
In a fast-paced, witty solo performance, Mazzon unpacks the discrepancies between religion, faith and power with humour, urgency and insight. As the story unfolds, it challenges audiences to reconsider the relationship between institutional, religious authority and personal belief and to question the real meaning of freedom, especially when faith becomes a form of rebellion.
The Glitch, Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7AE from Wednesday 3rd – Monday 8th September 2025. 7pm (And 2pm matinee Sat)
Running time: 60 minutes
Booking and full details: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/vaultcreativearts/1718463
