Mihura Santos, Miguel

b. 1905, Madrid; d. 1977, Madrid

   Writer

   Mihura is considered contemporary Spain's leading comic playwright. In addition to writing for the stage, he was a director and a screenwriter. During his youth, he worked as an actor but abandoned acting to dedicate himself entirely to writing. Mihura's first dramatic compositions were written in collaboration with other playwrights of his generation such as Joaquín Calvo Sotelo and Álvaro de Laiglesia. He wrote his first play, Tres sombreros de copa (Three Top Hats), in 1932. It had its début in 1952 and was a commercial success, winning its author critical acclaim. Similar recognition continued in conjunction with subsequent works almost without interruption until 1968, the year of Mihura's last play, Sólo el amor y la luna traen fortuna (Only Love and the Moon Bring Good Luck) and after which he gave up writing because of failing health. Mihura was awarded the National Theatre Prize three times, in 1953 for Tres sombreros de copa, in 1956 for Mi adorado Juan (My Beloved Juan), and in 1959 for Maribel y la extraña familia (Maribel and the Strange Family). In 1964, he was awarded the prestigious Calderón de la Barca Prize for Ninette y un señor de Murcia (Ninette and a Gentleman from Murcia). In all, Mihura wrote twenty-three plays.

   Characteristically described as light-hearted comedy, Mihura's theatre is not without its transcendental artistic and social significance. In both form and technique, his drama reflects many of the avant-garde trends of the twentieth century. For example, the play within the play that pervades Tres sombreros de copa, and the question of identity in El cast del señor vestido de violeta (The Case of the Gentleman Dressed in Violet) (staged 1954) are metatheatrical devices that call our attention to the phenomenological implications of theatre as a self-referential art. There is also a discernible absurdist vein in Mihura's theatre. Such is the case in Carlota (staged 1957), where cause and effect are discounted through Mihura's clever use of language, and in La bella Dorotea (The Fair Dorotea) (1963), where he resorts to the ritual-like use of subplots to undermine audience anticipation and stress the subjectivity and unpredictability of reality. In other plays, such as El caso de la señora estupenda (The Case of the Stupendous Lady) (1953), Las entretenidas (Ladies of the Night) (1962), and Milagro en casa de los López (Miracle at the López House) (1965), Mihura dramatizes the quasi-existential confrontation of self and society by relying exclusively on mystery and intrigue.

   Mihura's theatre constitutes a unique brand of social satire. On the surface, his protagonists appear frivolous. Yet as their otherwise trivial predicaments evolve, they ultimately strike a pathetic note vis-à-vis the world they inhabit. As a result, Mihura succeeds in questioning the very arbitrary, if not capricious nature, of reality while parodying social conventions. His critical objective masked by farce, Mihura proves that light-hearted comedy can be a vehicle for social as well as artistic insight.

   Further reading

   - Holt, M.P. (1975) The Contemporary Spanish Stage (1949-1972), Boston, MA: Twayne Publishers (chapter 2 discusses Mihura's theatre in conjunction with the work of other leading dramatists of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s).

   - McKay, D.R. (1977) Miguel Mihura, Boston, MA: Twayne Publishers (an excellent general introduction to Mihura's theatre).

   - Miguel Martinez, E. de (1979) El teatro de Miguel Mihura, Salamanca: Universidad de Salamanca (a comprehensive study of the themes and formal elements of Mihura's theatre).

   JOHN P. GABRIELE