Josep Maria Miró: "Are we safer or freer in a more controlled society?"

BarcelonaJosep Maria Miró (Prats de Lluçanès, 1977) is one of the leading exponents of contemporary Catalan drama. He has toured the world with his texts and has seen his theatre adopt different forms and languages, while he continued to write and premiere shows in our country. Widely recognised with awards such as the National Prize for Dramatic Literature in 2022Miró is currently experiencing a moment of creative blossoming: he has The housekeeper at the Heartbreak Hotel and, starting February 19, Archimedes' principle in the Texas Space; it has just finished I, transvestite in La Villarroel, Sicalyptic It is about to premiere at the Centro Moral de Gràcia and will arrive at the Matadero in Madrid in the next few days. Nerium Park.

You have four plays on the billboard in Barcelona and one in Madrid. How do you feel at this moment?

— It is the result of chance. Sometimes it comes together, sometimes I go a year without teaching anything. It is necessary to explain it well: the sector is very complicated. The text of The housekeeper It was kept in a drawer for three years, although I presented it in several places. Alex [Rigola] read it, something that other theatres sometimes don't doHe opened a new theatre and he was interested. I am happy about it, but you have to look at everything in perspective. The waves of the theatre sector come and go in a very irregular way.

A new production ofArchimedes' principle, a show that was a springboard into the world. What did it mean to you?

— I had done it before Gang Bang within the TNC T6 project and everything that happened around that montage promoted the writing ofArchimedes' principleIt had a lot of impact, even internationally. It is a production with more than 40 productions around the world. I owe it, above all, a great visibility. When Texas proposed me to do a new production, I thought it was admirable, because it means that we understand our contemporary dramaturgy as the possibility of generating repertoire. It is not something that is often seen. Contemporary authors are asked for a lot of immediacy. If a text is not premiered at the time of writing, it is put away in a drawer. We should review it.

But unlike the 2012 release, you are not directing it this time.

— I've already done it, I had the intuition that someone else had to do it. This is where Leo Granados came in, who has done a wonderful job and has unquestionable talent. If I had done it myself I would have been more conservative. When it premiered, Leo was 12 or 13 years old. He didn't see it, he's the son of a different generation. This has meant a revision of the material. We have retouched the text, now there is less of a hint of danger and, instead, it is more dangerous. We have rewritten a scene that is the result of reflection and revision to adjust it to its time.

How does it feel to be led by someone younger from another generation?

— I like being directed by my generation, the one above me and a younger generation. All this creates intergenerational dialogue. Finding a director who pays attention to the writing is a treasure. It is very easy to take a text that is an international success and bring it here. In the end, it doesn't have much merit. On the other hand, forcing the author to do a job of revising the text for the production seems very interesting to me. We have to break that stereotype.

Archimedes' principle It talks about the greys in an ambiguous situation: a swimming pool instructor kisses a child to comfort him. What has happened in recent years that has prompted you to revise the text?

— A lot of things. The concept of protocols is much more established in any institution. The media has done work around Me Too, cancellation, codes about the other's body. Society has moved in another direction. Control mechanisms have been generated that, at times, clash with spontaneity. Are we safer or freer in a more controlled society? It is clear that safe and protective spaces must be created, but in some things the limits are not so clear. In my opinion, we have simplified many things.

Social media plays an important role in bringing abusive situations to light, but it also pushes people to pass judgement on others very quickly. How do you deal with this?

— I find it very difficult to get involved in some controversies because I don't have an immediate opinion. There are tweets that I may think are bad, but then the cruelty and lynching on the networks is absolutely savage. And I'm quoting a case that seems much more complex to me, because many things come together, including a clear example of transphobia. Social media is a double-edged sword. We must have zero tolerance for abuse, but sometimes we trivialize and simplify things to generate a headline. Let's not go into deep reflection.

His works, especially the most recent ones, are characterized by exploring the darkest corners of people: from sacrificial death to The most beautiful body ever found on this site to violence against women in The housekeeperWhy are you interested in the darkness of humanity?

— I like to say that they are luminous texts because through darkness they seek light. In all the works I explore the need to find ethical, individual and collective mechanisms to become a healthy community. The most beautiful body... There was an idea that poorly ordered desire only generates pain. The housekeeperThe protagonist is a victim of daily abuse and speaks of power that is misunderstood, of someone who dominates others from a position of humiliation or without taking them into account. And there is also the idea that the most powerful man is the one who has power over himself. I transvestite It is a song to freedom, to difference and to the ability to transform ourselves. Now it will come The monster, in which a character returns after having done a terrible act. Where do we put the monsters? Where is the real monstrosity?

Do you have a good time writing all this? Is the process satisfying?

— I have a lot of fun writing. Faced with a blank page, I go for a walk, to the cinema or I take my contact list. Writing is a space for speculation with universes that make me circulate. With the latest texts I am making a trip to the rural space, which is that of my language, the Catalan of my parents. And I like to play thriller, even if they are not. Ethical debate and deep reflection are another matter, but for me writing is happiness.