Pol López (Barcelona, 1984) has been Hamlet, Vladimir, Alceste and Raskolnikov. He also played Ivan in Suro (Mikel Gurea, 2022), a role that earned him the Gaudí for best male protagonist in 2023. And the endearing Os in La furgo (Eloy Calvo, 2025). He now has two fronts open: Mal de coraçon, at the Villarroel until June 21 – a play with which the Company Solitària says goodbye to the stage – and La desconocida (Gabe Ibáñez), which has just premiered on Netflix, in which López plays a Gaditan agent alongside Candela Peña.

The hand (originally titled En behanding in Spokane) is the first work set in the United States by the Irishman Martin McDonagh, an author we discovered in 1999 thanks to Mario Gas and that theatrical gem called Leenane's beauty queen. Eight years ago, La Villarroel also presented The Connemara SkullPremiered on Broadway in 2010 with Christopher Walken and Elia Kazan's granddaughter (Zoe Kazan) in the cast, The hand It's a dark comedy like The skullBut somewhat more absurd and less entertaining.

For some time, actor Pol López wanted to reunite with Anglo-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh (London, 1970), one of the most over-the-top playwrights on the contemporary scene. In 2017, the actor played the lead role in The Connemara Skull, which was performed at La Villarroel under the direction of Iván Morales. Two years later, McDonagh returned to the Catalan stage with The beauty queen of Leenane, directed by Julio Manrique at the Biblioteca. Audiences familiar with the Anglo-Irish playwright's earlier works know what to expect: politically incorrect characters, dark humor, a tension on the stage that's about to explode, and surprising twists and turns one after another. This is precisely what's brewing in The hand, which will be performed at La Villarroel from October 19 to November 16, translated by Martí Sales, under the direction of Pau Carrió and starring Pol López.