Perhaps most widely known locally as writer and director of the hilarious annual comedy revue, Rundown, Henry Muttoo is one of the Caribbean’s foremost theatre arts practitioners and is a household name in regional theatre, arts and cultural practices.
An award-winning actor, stage director and designer and arts manager, Mr. Muttoo’s memorable and distinguished career began in his birth land of Guyana at the age of 16 with a three-year apprenticeship programme at the Theatre Guild of Guyana. This was followed by studies in advanced Acting, Directing and Stage Management at the University of the West Indies, Theatre Design (Settings & Costumes) at Croydon College of Art & Design (UK) and a master’s degree in Theatre Practices at Manchester University (Rose Bruford College) in Kent, UK.
He has worked in the theatre and cultural arts fields throughout the Caribbean designing and/or directing for every major artist – including Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott – lectured at the University of the West Indies (Mona, Jamaica) and was, for seven years, a senior tutor at the School of Drama, Edna Manley College of the Arts, in Jamaica. Mr. Muttoo has also been a regular Visiting Scholar at the University of South Florida, where he has taught design, and directed three Caribbean classics. He has directed in London, Holland and Toronto, and is a founder-member of the iconic Guyanese theatre company, All Ah We, the first regional company to seriously promote Caribbean literature through stage performance.
In Cayman, Mr. Muttoo’s visionary work in culture and the arts at CNCF since 1989 has helped to recalibrate the national discourse on the arts and culture in society, influenced the work of many of Cayman’s finest artists and given a more assured voice to Caymanian artists and culture-makers. He has been the Artistic Director for all but one of Cayman’s showings in CARIFESTA – the Caribbean Festival of the Arts – and, since 1972, has represented three countries at CARIFESTA: Guyana, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
Mr. Muttoo has received numerous awards and honours for his work as an actor, director and designer as well as his contributions to the development, preservation and celebration of Caymanian arts and culture. These include the Member of the British Empire, the Cayman National Cultural Foundation Heritage Cross, the National Heroes Day Award for Cultural Heritage (Pioneer) and Officer of the Order of the Cayman Islands. He is also a recipient of the Golden Arrow of Achievement (NY) for his contribution to Guyanese arts and culture.
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