The narrative is patchy in this otherwise exuberant show. In the end, I gave up trying to understand what was going on and tried to enjoy the rhythms, provided by a live band and singers, and all the dancing that accompanied it, but the show kept returning to a storyline of sorts about Lola, who left Spain to go to London in the 1960s. I didn’t properly understand, based purely on what transpired on stage, why this was necessary, or why she specifically chose London as opposed to anywhere else. The opening scene makes plain the production wants to take the audience on a literal and metaphorical journey, complete with suitcases and the hustle and bustle of a mainline railway station.
Performed in Spanish, the surtitles were sporadic, perhaps an artistic decision to give the audience a flavour of what it would have been like for Lola to be in a position where there she had little, if any, idea as to what was going on, not being conversant in the language of her new home. Still, she manages to secure employment, so must have understood some English to have done that (and, unless they paid her cash in hand, opened a bank account and all the rest of it). But there were just too many gaps in the plotline to follow it with ease. A postscript to the performance is worth noting: the production is dedicated to Ileimn Ceciliano, who died at the age of thirty-five earlier this year, and was scheduled to perform at Fringe 2025 (her name was in the list of dancers).
The live music was quite incredible, though again, not being able to determine more often than not what on earth was being sung, it was difficult at times to appreciate whether, for instance, a slow song was a song of lament, torment or an expression of unrequited love, or something else entirely. I can’t fault the dancing, and the ‘flamenco’ in the show’s title was executed perfectly, even if the ‘love story’ was not: it felt more like a house party than a budding romance. The former felt more than a little shackled by the attempt at the latter. The production manages to shine through dazzling displays of footwork, even if it is in desperate need of a librettist.
Review by Chris Omaweng
A vibrant new dance musical fusing passionate contemporary flamenco with the rousing rhythms of Latin pop and jazz.
After the death of her husband, Lola flees the poverty of 1960s Spain to find work in London and support the young children she’s left behind. The work is hard, the weather is miserable and she doesn’t understand the language. She misses her home. She misses her children. But a chance encounter brings Lola fresh hope.
Dancers – María García, Gabriel Aragú, Karen Clark, Amada Escudero, Melisa Soledad Maciuk, Anaís Rubas Carrión, Tatiana Ruíz
Singers – Sara Holgado, Iván Carpio
Musicians – David Bermúdez (piano and musical director), Gori Mazo (guitar), Diego Rocha (guitar), Javier Teruel (percussion), Manuel Pérez Hernaíz
Written and directed by María García
Choreography – Ursula Lopez
Lighting Design by Colin Grenfell
LOLA: A FLAMENCO LOVE STORY
Edinburgh International Conference Centre at the Edinburgh Fringe
30 July to 24 August 2025
