Toni Sala's work arrives in the theater for the first time
Albert Arribas will adapt a chapter of 'Escenaris' at the Heartbreak Hotel with Mara Jiménez as the protagonist
BarcelonaDirector and playwright Albert Arribas will bring, for the first time, a text by writer Toni Sala to the theater. It is La paret de vidre (The Glass Wall), a chapter from the author from Sant Feliu's latest novel, Escenaris (L'Altra, 2025). Actress Mara Jiménez will star in the piece, which will be performed from January 19 to February 14 at the Heartbreak Hotel in Barcelona. "The whole book is written as if it were theater. This chapter is already an autonomous monologue, the best one from my point of view," explains Arribas. The text gives voice to one of the characters in the novel, Olga, during a late-night call with the novel's protagonist. According to Arribas, the monologue "is a cry of despair, very anti-humanist, about the fact of living in a system that does not allow us to get excited about anything".
The director has chosen Mara Jiménez to play the character of Olga, a young woman with obesity who has just become a mother. "I needed a profile that, unfortunately, is still rare on stage. I remembered her from Un amor particular and Gordas. I gave her the text and she was completely fascinated," points out the director.
La paret de vidre is part of the new programming at the Heartbreak Hotel, the Sants venue captained by Àlex Rigola. This season will be marked by literary adaptations. In addition to Toni Sala's work, the Heartbreak Hotel will host a new adaptation of Dubliners by James Joyce directed by Rigola himself and starring Biel Duran and Francesca Piñón. Another of the season's bets is Death in Venice, by Thomas Mann, directed by Mia Parcerisa with Oriol Genís at the helm. The theater will also recover some successful public and critical shows such as Coral romput (with Pere Arquillué and Carlos Coronado), Retorn a Haifa (starring Ariadna Gil), Lluna plena (Butaca award for best small-format show 2025) and King Kong Theory, by Virginie Despentes, which will return with an empty stage to give all the weight to the lead actress, Mari Pau Pigem.
The venue has partnered with the Clàssics festival and will offer two proposals: a reading of the Odyssey with Miriam Moukhles and Joan Sentís, and the revival of the show On Fire, directed by Emma Arquillué and starring Pablo Macho Otero. In addition, Lídia Pujol will perform again with a concert based on the repertoire of the Nova Cançó. The Heartbreak Hotel season has started with the show Ella i màquina by Sergi Belbel, led by Enric Cambray and Àgata Roca.
A new discount for young people
For the first time, this year Rigola's theater is incorporating a new discount that will offer tickets for three euros to those under 21 years of age. However, tickets can only be accessed 15 minutes before the performance begins. "If there are free seats a quarter of an hour before the show starts, we make them available to young people at a revolutionary price. I don't know if all young people are interested in theater, but it is important that none of them are left without access due to economic reasons," highlights the director, who makes a positive assessment of the theater's four years of operation. "We are starting to have a recurring audience and we are leaving our mark. The most important thing is the fact of being able to enjoy the great names of acting in our country with great proximity –highlights Rigola–. We feel a great love for the word, and the proximity to the performer gives it a very great value."
