Carlota, the darkest of humour from Miguel Mihura at the British Council School Theatre.
Directed by our very own Paloma Sigüenza and staged by our KS4 and KS5 students, the British Council School Theatre, put on Carlota. This is a police comedy in which the Spanish playwright and master of the absurd, Miguel Mihura revels in his own brand of dark humour. First staged at the Infanta Isabel Theatre in 1957, the work still retains its appeal and suspense, Who killed Carlota and how?...
Set in London, around 1900, detective Douglas Hilton investigates the complex murder of Carlota, Charlie Barringtton´s wife. The investgation, conducted in a comical way, becomes a run-through of the lives of the various characters before Carlota´s death. The suspects are developed in character, they suffer, they have fun, they feel jealous, they plot, fall in love, are unfaithful and they commit murder. The psychological problems of the main character and the portrayal of a perfect crime are evidence of Mihura´s brilliant psychological word games and provide a convoluted plot, full of the absurd.
“I just wanted to make a simple police comedy with a lot of drama and interest and which would be easy to interpret and loved by all kinds of audiences”, said Miguel Mihura himself, in an interview published in the 3rd issue of Primer Acto, in 1957. He carried on, “well, as always happens to me, it turned out that the comedy ended up a bit strange. Neither the producer nor I, know what kind of comedy it is yet”. Everybody should reach their own conclusion.
Congratulations to our students and our dear teacher Paloma Sigüenza!