Folklorica is a curious piece of theatre. It is part fairytale, part allegory, part hard-hitting political fable, with more than a hint of pantomime thrown in.
Set in the final years of the nineteenth century, the key focus of the narrative is based upon a group of five Hispanic women who work in an American textile factory, having to cope with the stresses and strains of the myriad challenges thrown up by an intensely patriarchal society infused with deep-seated misogyny and sexism.
The women are overworked, underpaid, and continually under the lascivious eye of the boss.
Following an encounter one evening in the woods, one of the girls, Mira, falls victim to the predatory owner of the factory and becomes pregnant. The girls seek to help Mira by taking her to a healer cum sorceress based in the forest. Having taken a potion to “deal” with the pregnancy, Mira is transported into a dreamlike underworld where she faces allegorical depictions of the fight for gender and economic parity, and gathers the strength to deal with her own personal trauma as well as gaining the confidence to lead the fight against injustice, discrimination and prejudice.
This is quite a lot to pack into 70 minutes, not to mention a discourse on the dangers of uncontrolled industrial development on the environment, well-choreographed flamenco-style dancing, and plaintive singing.
There is a delicate balancing act here. Writer/director and actor Jade Alvara gives us a gritty, unsentimental view of the challenges faced by economically disadvantaged immigrant women, juxtaposed with a joyous, optimistic and vibrant representation of Latin identity and sisterhood.
It is an ambitious task, but unfortunately doesn’t quite come off.
There are so many issues raised in a relatively short space of time that, inevitably, there is the feel of an overegged pudding in the overall narrative structure. Some issues appear to have been shoehorned into the plot with no real additional reference points included in the later development of the storyline; for example, the discourse upon the spoliation of the rivers as a result of capitalist greed and carelessness is introduced, and then not subsequently referenced.
Similarly, some of Mira’s dance sequences, whilst skilfully executed, seemed to be out of context with regard to the rest of the action.
Whilst there are some good moments in Folklorica, the feeling remained throughout that the sum of the parts was greater than the whole. One admired the respective strengths of the individual scenes and vignettes, but the overall cohesiveness of the piece did not fully gel.
Having said this, there were a number of strong characterisations. Nicole Schretlen Montes, as the protagonist Mira, gave a strong, nuanced performance. Whether leading the workers in questioning the socio-economic status quo, coping with the shock of discovering her pregnancy at the hands of the factory owner and dealing with the grief of losing her child, Montes’ characterisation was always appropriate and convincing. Her dancing and singing were also first-rate.
Grecia De La Paz’s portrayal of Gloria gave us a spirited and amusing view of a worldly-wise, slightly caustic, but always clear-eyed and supportive friend and colleague.
Solal Vergara Constantini appeared to have much fun with enunciating the rather clunky, pantomime-heavy dialogue that he was given as Richard Malus, the villain of the play. Dressed firstly all in black and then, during the dream sequence, as a red incubus figure, he twirled his vocal moustache impressively but could have toned down the harsh cacophony of his delivery.
One of the most impressive parts of the production was the excellently synchronised mime of the actual work of the textile workers. The five girls demonstrated the tiring, repetitive, backbreaking nature of working heavy textile looms perfectly. A great example of ensemble playing.
The climax of the play, where the girls energetically throw off their subjugation and strike both a literal and metaphorical blow to the patriarchy and the yoke of economic servitude, seemed a little rushed and galloped towards its conclusion with unseemly haste. The play ends on an exuberant note but leaves doubts about what happens next. Perhaps this is preparing the ground for Folklorica II.
There is no doubt talent in this cast, and they attack the narrative with pace and enthusiasm, but the play needs a stronger, more cohesive structural treatment and a better-focused narrative.
Folklorica is an ambitious undertaking, but tries to pack in too many disparate themes (class struggle, feminism, environmentalism), via too many genres of attack (comedy, melodrama and allegorical “stream of consciousness”) to be successful.
It is the definition of a curate’s egg.
Review by Johnny Oxford
Set in the industrial revolution, Folklorica follows a group of resilient latina factory workers as they navigate exploitation, pregnancy, and the supernatural. These women are overworked, underpaid, and fed up with their boss’s unwanted advances. Our protagonist, Mira, is pregnant.. and there’s a mystical healer in the woods who can help. Magic seeps through the seams of Mira’s reality as she is transported into a colourful underworld in which her worries fade away.
Folklorica is a gritty look at the challenges immigrant women face juxtaposed with a vibrant representation of Latina identity.
CAST
Nicole Schretlen Montes – Mira Gonzalez
Grecia Castillo De La Paz – Gloria Aguilar
Angee Sanchez Garcia – Sarafina Amador
Sandra Vergara – Isabella De La Cruz
Micaela Prada – Carmen Montes
Solal Vergara Costantini – Mr. Richard Malus
Jade Alvara – Mama Milagra
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer/Director/Producer: Jade Alvara
Assistant Producer: Angee Sanchez Garcia
Production Manager: Micaela Prada
Musical Directors: Jay Lane, Al Marshall, & JVENENO
Costume Designer & Maker: Kaia Strange
Graphic Designer: Giovanna Lavezo
Choreographer: Alondra Valeria Galvan
Lighting Designer: Charlotte D’Angelo
FOLKLORICA
Drayton Arms Theatre
16 to 20 September 2025
