Antonio Banderas left Sohrlin Andalucía after differences with producer Domingo Sánchez over its direction. Sánchez and Merlín will keep the venue running as Banderas looks for a larger space for the Teatro del Soho CaixaBank.
Sohrlin Andalucía opened in July 2024 as a venue for live performance and specialist training. Antonio Banderas left the Málaga project in October 2026 after differences with producer Domingo Sánchez over its direction and working approach. The partners ended their collaboration by mutual agreement. Sánchez and his company Merlín now have sole control of the venture.
The change will not immediately bring Sohrlin’s programme to a halt.
The venue has recently opened the interactive exhibition ‘La leyenda del Titanic’ and is set to continue its cultural and training activities. Speaking to SUR, Sánchez said there had been no falling-out. He described Banderas’s departure as a change in ownership and said the actor wanted to focus on the Teatro del Soho.
Banderas has been considering a different venue for some time. He wants to expand the Teatro del Soho CaixaBank with a larger space that can host bigger productions. One possible site lies west of La Térmica, near Parque Litoral. Universidad Alfonso X and the Inacua sports complex are nearby. No final location or timetable has been announced.
The search sheds light on the departure. Sohrlin occupies about 8,000 square metres in western Málaga, near the sea, inside a converted industrial building. A metalworking business once operated there. The building also housed a textile company and a grain warehouse. The site in La Misericordia is affected by planned urban development. In April 2026, Banderas called Sohrlin a temporary space and said it could remain in use for around three or four more years.
The venture began taking shape in October 2022, when Banderas and Sánchez presented their partnership at Málaga City Hall. Their plan paired Banderas’s artistic experience and work at the Teatro del Soho with Sánchez’s experience producing large international shows.
Sohrlin was designed as a cultural venue and training centre for the entertainment industry. Its facilities included spaces for theatre and music, as well as circus. Immersive technology was also part of the plan. The project included a school for stage and technical professions. Its name combined Soho and Merlín, linking the partners’ projects. In December 2023, they presented a sponsorship agreement with the Andalusian regional government. Former regional minister Arturo Bernal put the department’s annual contribution at €2 million. The agreement could be renewed each year. Banderas’s wider cultural work also sits within Spain’s arts calendar, which has included the Barcelona Premio Planeta ceremony.
Theatre has carried substantial costs for Banderas. Figures published in 2025 for the Teatro del Soho CaixaBank’s 2023 accounts showed a loss of €860,000 on revenue close to €4 million, down 51% on the previous year. The company said the result partly reflected a reorganisation of expenses. It also reported an EBITDA of -€154,758. The loss included accounting items such as investment amortisation.
According to those accounts, Banderas had contributed close to €7 million to support the theatre company. He has described the venture as a cultural investment in Málaga and accepted that ambitious productions can run at a loss. The company said sponsorship and audience revenue helped underpin its finances. It also cited Banderas’s support as a patron.
Banderas’s search for a larger theatre space remains at the site-selection stage. The future use of the Sohrlin name has not been decided.
