FLAMENCO: ORIGENES at the Etcetera Theatre

★★★★

“The costumes are dazzling and thoroughly authentic”

It’s been a particularly wet and cool summer so far in London, and if you’ve not had a chance to escape the rain, let me suggest a trip to Flamenco/Orígenes. This show is currently playing at the Etcetera Theatre as part of the 2023 Camden Fringe Festival. There, for a brief hour, you can sit and imagine yourself, without much difficulty, in Seville, perhaps, or any other Spanish city fa-mous for its small dark spaces where you can crowd in to see authentic flamenco. It’s a treat to climb the steep stairs at the Etcetera Theatre, and be part of an enthusiastic sold out house that knows how to appreciate good music and good dancing.

Flamenco/Orígenes, presented by the Lourdes Fernandez Flamenco Company based here in London, is not just about the dancing. There’s a story attached to the seven pieces performed in this show as well. Each dance, or palos, presents a piece of the history of flamenco. From its earliest origins in India and North Africa, the Company moves through the contributions of the indigenous peoples who gave us what we now recognize as flamenco. There’s even several changes of costume to emphasize the visual component. It’s quite a feat to pull this off in such a small space (and there is a moment when a spinning shawl catches a music stand and it goes flying) but the Company manages the whole show with style and confidence. By the time the show ends with a bravura presentation of modern day flamenco, it is not just the dancers and musicians who are clapping and stamping their feet with enthusiasm. The audience has caught the energy as well, leaping to their feet with applause and cries of “Olé!”

“You are about to be transported to the warmth of another world”

This talented company consists of two dancers including Lourdes Fernandez herself, and a very accomplished band of singer, drummer, violinist and guitar. Singer Mónica García in particular captures the unique sound of flamenco, and she is very ably supported by the other musicians. The costumes are dazzling and thoroughly authentic, including the brightly coloured shawls that the dancers manage so adroitly. In short, there’s plenty of feast the eyes and ears in this show, even if it’s sometimes hard to see the footwork when seated more than a couple of rows back. I suggest sitting in the front rows, and as Lourdes herself recommends, placing your drink well back under your seat so it doesn’t get upset in all the excitement.

Flamenco/Orígenes is well worth sixty minutes of your time. It’s a welcome escape from Lon-don’s shivery summer, for an absolute bargain of a price. You may need an umbrella to get to the 2023 Camden Town Fringe Festival, but once you are inside the Etcetera Theatre, fold it up. You are about to be transported to the warmth of another world that is the unforgettable beauty of flamenco!

FLAMENCO: ORIGENES at the Etcetera Theatre

Reviewed on 2nd August 2023

by Dominica Plummer

Photography – Lourdes Fernández Flamenco Company

More shows reviewed by Dominica:

Caligula And The Sea | ★★½ | VAULT Festival 2023 | March 2023

Dance Of Death | ★★★★★ | The Coronet Theatre | March 2023

Farm Hall | ★★★★ | Jermyn Street Theatre | March 2023

The Net Kill | ★★★★★ | VAULT Festival 2023 | March 2023

666 Hell Lane | ★★★★★ | The Vaults | February 2023

Dance Me | ★★★★★ | Sadler’s Wells Theatre | February 2023

Oklahoma! | ★★★★ | Wyndham’s Theatre | February 2023

Police Cops: Badass Be Thy Name | ★★★★★ | The Vaults | February 2023

Women, Beware The Devil | ★★★★ | Almeida Theatre | February 2023

Intruder | ★★★★ | VAULT Festival 2023 | January 2023

Flamenco: Origenes

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★

“tries to be about everything, and leaves you feeling nothing”

‘What the f*ck is this show about?’ exclaims one character to another during one of the many improvised scenes of Come to One. Watching the two performers splutter through the scene, unable to agree on a direction or sense of rhythm, it certainly felt like an apt question to ask.

Come to One is an entirely improvised show from Three Worlds about, well…anything, really. The performers ask the audience what’s been playing on their hearts and minds as of late, and take those as themes to improvise around. In this performance, those themes were: missing friends, corrupt politicians, exhaustion, interstellar sources of energy, and gourmet cooking. If you’re wondering how those concepts could possibly intersect, don’t worry – they don’t bother trying; instead, we are then presented with around 20-25 different, largely unconnected scenes that loosely tie into those themes, but seemingly only ever one at a time. In some instances the story in one scene is continued at a later point, but these seemed to cause more problems for the performers than the standalone scenes did.

The company, comprised of Andy St John, Carol Tagg, Michal Nowak, Izzy Glin, Tom Barnes and Zoot Lynam, seem to really struggle with the lack of structure they’ve imposed on themselves. Many other improv-focused shows will ask for plot details such as settings, characters, and motivations, and Come to One makes it clear why that is. With only vague concepts such as gourmet cooking to go off, it felt like the actors were fighting to find a sense of direction or momentum to their scenes, initially locking horns with their pre-conceived notions of where they wanted to take the conversation, then floundering to move it along as neither listens to the instincts of the other. It more often than not felt like the audience had sat in on an improv workshop that was for the benefit of the performers, rather than watching skilled improvisers show off their craft for entertainment.

The lack of command the actors had over their own show resulted in it being a tonal disaster. One plot thread about an astronaut overstepping boundaries with the humanoid AI accompanying him felt like it was supposed to be hard-hitting and thought-provoking, but this was severely undermined when another performer chose to swoop by every so often pretending to be a passing star. There was a definite uneasiness in the audience as to whether to laugh or not, and whether the laughter was with or at the actors.

It’s difficult not to feel guilty writing such a negative review because it’s clear that the performers were giving it their all, but they simply weren’t developed enough in their craft to take on the freeform nature of the show they’ve conceived. Come to One tries to be about everything, and leaves you feeling nothing.

Reviewed by Ethan Doyle

Photography courtesy Three Worlds

FLAMENCO: ORIGENES at the Etcetera Theatre

★★★★

“The costumes are dazzling and thoroughly authentic”

“You are about to be transported to the warmth of another world”

FLAMENCO: ORIGENES at the Etcetera Theatre

Reviewed on 2nd August 2023

by Dominica Plummer

Photography – Lourdes Fernández Flamenco Company

More shows reviewed by Dominica:

Flamenco: Origenes

Flamenco: Origenes

Etcetera Theatre

Reviewed – 15th November 2019

★

“tries to be about everything, and leaves you feeling nothing”

‘What the f*ck is this show about?’ exclaims one character to another during one of the many improvised scenes of Come to One. Watching the two performers splutter through the scene, unable to agree on a direction or sense of rhythm, it certainly felt like an apt question to ask.

Reviewed by Ethan Doyle

Photography courtesy Three Worlds

Come to One

Etcetera Theatre until 15th December

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

‘What the fck is this show about?’ exclaims one character to another during one of the many improvised scenes of Come to One*. Watching the two performers splutter through the scene, unable to agree on a direction or sense of rhythm, it certainly felt like an apt question to ask.