Edinburgh Fringe Chats (#121): María García, LOLA - A FLAMENCO LOVE STORY
As anticipation builds for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025, we’re catching up with a range of exciting creatives preparing to bring their work to the world’s largest arts festival this August. In this series, we delve into the stories behind the shows, the inspiration driving the artists, and what audiences can expect. Today, we’re joined by María García to find out more about her show, Lola - A Flamenco Love Story.
1. Can you begin by telling us about your show and what inspired it?
"Lola" is a Flamenco dance musical that tells the story of a young widow named Lola. After the tragic death of her husband, she leaves her homeland, Spain, to find work abroad and support the children and parents she’s left behind.
The story is set in the late 1960s, a time when many Spaniards emigrated due to harsh political and economic conditions, searching for a better life elsewhere. Lola moves to London, where she faces numerous challenges — unfamiliar surroundings, grey weather, and the deep loneliness of being far from home. Soon, she’s overwhelmed by fear and doubt. But a chance encounter brings her fresh hope and love.
The show is about the idea that we don’t get to choose what life throws at us — but in the end, we decide what we make of it. Everyone knows the feeling of being overwhelmed or not feeling up to a challenge. It’s about finding the courage and strength to keep going anyway.
My father emigrated from Spain to Germany in the 1960s with my grandfather when he was just 17 years old. They left behind my grandmother and six younger siblings. Lola is inspired by the stories my parents shared with me — stories about what it was like to leave behind the family and country they loved, in search of a better life in a place and culture that felt completely foreign to them.
2. What made you want to bring this work to the Fringe this year?
We first produced the show in 2018 and presented it with great success at the English Theatre Frankfurt in 2018 and 2019. After that, we began planning a tour across Germany. But just as we were about to begin, COVID hit and brought everything to a halt.
Five years later, we revived Lola and performed it in Switzerland in 2024, where it was also very well received. That positive response encouraged us to tour again. Someone in the industry then recommended that we bring Lola to the Fringe to gain international exposure and build the right connections for the future of the show. Now that we’ve learned more about the festival, we’re absolutely thrilled to present the show in such an extraordinary setting.
3. How would you describe your show in three words?
Passionate. Powerful. Heartfelt.
4. What do you hope audiences take away from watching your performance?
Lola’s story touches the hearts of the audience. It invites us to delve into both the past and present of migration — offering a different perspective on the experience — while also unfolding as a hopeful and redemptive love story on many levels.
It’s a tale of migration that shows it can end in reconciliation, and a deeply personal journey in which Lola ultimately finds the strength to open herself once again to life and to love. It also offers audiences the chance to experience the gripping emotional power of Flamenco — in a unique and unexpected way: as a dance musical.
5. What’s your top tip for surviving the Fringe?
Since I’ve heard that the Fringe Festival will push us to our limits, we’ll take a page from Lola’s story — focus on the positive, enjoy what we can, and just keep breathing.
6. Where and when can people see your show?
We’ll be performing daily at 7:30 PM from July 30th to August 24th at the Pleasance, at the EICC.
Except on August 6, 13 and 20.
Instagram: @lola_flamencoproductions
Show link: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/lola-flamenco-love-story
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