Alejandro Postigo - Copla: A Spanish Cabaret, THEATRE

Review

Copla: A Spanish Cabaret is a bold and unusual performance that reclaims Spain’s iconic copla through an inventive blend of storytelling, archive, and live performance. Alejandro Postigo weaves together facts, old footage, historical archives, and personal testimony with singing and live music, creating a cabaret that is as much a history lesson as it is a defiant act of art.

The production tells the story of copla’s origins, how this dramatic, heartfelt musical form shaped Spain’s popular culture, and the ways in which it touched—and continues to touch—people’s everyday lives. Yet beyond nostalgia, the show confronts the political: under Franco’s fascist regime, copla became both censored and co-opted, its melodies silenced or repurposed. Here, it is reimagined as a weapon of resistance, a soundtrack for survival and identity.

Awarded the Personal Achievement Award, Copla: A Spanish Cabaret was recognised for its unique narrative form and its powerful reclamation of music as history, memory, and resistance. It is a cabaret of defiance, reminding us of the enduring role of art in the fight for freedom.

Synopsis

A celebration of Spain’s vibrant cultural and political history, brought to life with a queer twist. Practically unknown abroad, Copla is the dramatic, heartfelt music that shaped Spain’s early musicals – perfect for anyone who loves laughing, crying and singing along to a diva’s melodramatic refrain. Once censored under Franco’s regime, Copla’s raw emotion and soaring melodies are reimagined for a new, intercultural generation. Join a journey through the upheavals of a queer migrant experience: living far from home, translating childhood musical memories and celebrating foreignness through song.