Emma Vilarasau, Joel Joan, Clara Segura, and Joan Pera: the new season of Focus

BarcelonaFor the third consecutive year, the theaters of the Focus Group have broken an all-time audience record. Last season, the Goya, Romea, Condal, and La Villarroel theaters garnered 517,000 spectators and €10.9 million in takings. "We have reached an unthinkable milestone. Surpassing half a million spectators and reaching this level of takings marks new records. These are springboard figures that point us toward an even more promising future," stated Daniel Martínez de Obregón, president of the Focus Group, during the season presentation. "The ingredients for success were there, and we have made good use of them to achieve a significant enough consensus regarding the high artistic quality of our production and exhibitions," he added.

Looking ahead to the next season, Martínez de Obregón said they predict "continued growth" because they have never before had "such high advance ticket sales figures." The new season will feature 70 shows and is designed under the slogan "Begin the journey again." Focus' future projects include the construction of a new theater and an arts school in Poblenou, whose construction will begin in January 2026.

Roger Coma, Mercè Arànega and Ramon Madaula at La Villarroel

After starting the season with the return of Grand Canyon, La Villarroel will welcome one of its old acquaintances on stage: the Anglo-Irish Martin McDonagh –author of the dark The Connemara Skull– returns to the room with The hand, a pitch-black comedy directed by Pau Carrió and starring Pol López. The actor will play a man who has been obsessed for over 20 years with finding the hand that was cut off when he was a child. The theater will also host an English play, The children, by Lucy Kirkwood, directed by David Selvas and with a trio of aces in the cast: Emma Vilarasau, Mercè Arànega and Jordi Boixaderas, who will be the protagonists of an apocalyptic story that brings to the table themes such as generational responsibility and aging.

Regarding Catalan drama, La Villarroel will host two premieres. On the one hand, Jordi Casanovas will present Gothenburg, about a successful writer and a surgeon obsessed with understanding love, starring Maria Molins and Roger Coma in their respective roles. Marta Buchaca also hosts a comedy about education and the limits of childhood, titled A slap in the face in time and led by Ramon Madaula and Rosa Renom. To close the season, in May, La Villarroel will recover the fantastic Heartache, by the Solitaria company, a mysterious and entertaining journey with lost characters. In parallel, the venue maintains the Off series with shows such as Naked, by Elena Santiago; A red bench, by Hermes Gaido, and Crazy, by Mariona Esplugues.

La Cubana, Lluís Homar and Toni Acosta at the Romea

The Romea Theatre will start the course with the party and the show intrinsic to La Cubana, which is already ready Love came by taxi and the nineteen performers who will be part of it. Some of them have been here for years and are part of the Cuban family, such as Anna Barrachina and Xavi Tena. Another of the theater's highlights comes from the hand of the Argentine Nelson Valente, who has the challenge of directing Joel Joan in a monologue that recreates Uncle Vanya by Chekhov.

But this won't be the only classic to be presented at the Romea. Lluís Homar will lead the stage adaptation of the novel. Memoirs of Adrià, by Marguerite Yourcenar. The production will be performed in Spanish and directed by Beatriz Jaén. Also coming from Madrid The bitter tears of Petra von Kant, by Rainer W. Fassbinder,in a version by Rakel Camacho premiered last spring at the Matadero, and the monologue A movie mother with Toni Acosta on stage. In addition, the Romea will host shows for family audiences such as Matras, from the company Campi Qui Pugui and Insect Motel, a puppet show with Elsa Lluch behind it.

The new 'Band of Brothers' at the Condal

The Condal is the home of musicals, and this season it has a hidden card that fans of the genre eagerly await. The Paral·lel Theatre is preparing Blood brothers, directed by Daniel Anglès and featuring a star-studded cast. Triquell will narrate this story starring Albert Salazar and Roc Bernadí, with Mariona Castillo and Tai Fati playing the main female characters. Before that, Joan Pera will return with A surrogate father-in-law.

Susanna Garachana has become in recent years one of the leading names in Catalan comedy dramaturgy. Now he has adapted A great idea, which will also star alongside Lluís Villanueva, Xavi Mira and Anna Azcona. The Condal's programme also includes musical shows such as Shampoo, by the Barcelona Gay Men's Chorus; performances by Sharonne and a recital by Víctor Arbelo, among others.

Lolita, Josep Maria Pou, and T de Teatre, at the Goya

The season at the Goya Theatre – which has already begun, with Damn heels– will combine premieres with the return of shows that have been successful in previous seasons. Among the former is the Poncia, starring Lolita Flores, who will play Bernarda Alba's maid in a harrowing monologue. The T de Teatre will carry Today I will not cry after making a first premiere in High Season Festival, a family comedy also directed by Nelson Valente.

One of the highlights of the season is The last atom, an apocalyptic tragedy written and directed by Jordi Oriol. The stage will feature four of our country's finest performers: Clara Segura, Joan Carreras, Paula Malia, and Carles Pedragosa. In parallel, the Goya will revive two productions that audiences have welcomed with open arms in recent seasons. This includes Giant, starring Josep Maria Pou, and The braid, that became a phenomenon three years ago.

The venue will also host shows that have already been successful in Spanish theaters: Better not to say it, with Imanol Arias and María Barranco, and Road to Mecca, starring Lola Herrera and directed by Claudio Tolcachir. All of this will be combined with the return of proposals such as Guilty pleasure, by Lara Díez Quintanilla, and the tireless The Wise Women, among other proposals.