Pantomime

TheatreUSF presents Pantomime.

By Derek Walcott
Directed by Holloway Endowed Chair in Dance and Theatre
Guest Artist Henry Muttoo
Oct. 1-11, 2015 / Theatre 2

: Two men are on a deck, one on the left is sitting in a chair while the one on the right is standing and talking to him, head cocked to the side as if feigning confusion or indignance.

A man is posed in somewhat of a fighting stance, his right arm pointed out while holding an umbrella made of various pelts in the other hand. He is wearing a pointed hat made out of stitched together pelts and is sticking out his lower lip.

Two men are on a deck, one is sitting in an upturned table, leaning back with his hand over his forehead, eyes wide as if looking at something in the distance. The other man is standing, legs bent slightly and with arms raised and wrists hanging limply in the air.

Two men are sitting on the deck shirtless, an umbrella made of stitched up pelts is sitting next to the man on the left while the man on the right is wearing a pointed hat made of stitched up pelts.

A man sits in an upturned table facing the right, hand in the air pointed horizontally as he is looking agape at something in the distance. Another man is standing on a railing of some kind, exclaiming and stretching out his arms as he keeps himself balanced.

Written by Nobel Prize-winning Caribbean playwright Derek Walcott and directed by Artistic Director of the Cayman National Cultural Foundation, Henry Muttoo, this story revolves around Harry Trewe, the English owner of the Castaways Guest House and retired music hall actor (where pantomimes were performed), and Jackson Phillip, a Trinidadian who works for Trewe.

Harry is true to the stereotype of the Englishman with a stiff upper lip. He maintains aloofness and a chauvinistic attitude that the British are superior, "civilized" and entitled to higher social status. Harry wants to enlist Jackson in performing a "panto" to attract guests based on the 1719 book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Jackson is reluctant at first, so Harry tries reversing the roles in an attempt to interest him.

The residencies of Henry Muttoo and David Bereaux are made possible through the generous support of the Holloway Endowed Chair in Dance and Theatre.

Week 1 Cast:

Harry Trewe played by USF Theatre and Dance Director Marc Powers
Jackson Phillip played by Holloway Guest Artist David Bereaux

Week 2 Cast:

Harry Trewe played by USF Theatre Student Anthony Santaniello
Jackson Phillip played by USF Theatre Student Thomas Morgan

HENRY MUTTOO

Henry Muttoo, is one of the Caribbean’s foremost Theatre Arts practitioners. He is an award-winning actor, stage director and designer, and Arts Manager and has worked in the theatre throughout the Caribbean, designing and/or directing for major artists such as Derek Walcott, Rawle Gibbons, Oliver Samuels, Trevor Rhone and Dennis Scott, among others. In Cayman, Henry’s work at CNCF has helped to recalibrate the national discourse on the arts and culture in society and has influenced the work of many of Caymanian’s finest artists and culture-makers. He has lectured at the University of the West Indies (Mona, Jamaica), was for many years a senior tutor at the School of Drama, Edna Manley College of the Arts in Jamaica and has been an occasional Visiting Scholar at the University of South Florida (Tampa), where he directed Errol John’s Moon on a Rainbow Shawl and Derek Walcott’s Ti Jean & His Brothers.

He was a founder-member of the iconic Guyanese Theatre Company, All Ah We, the first Caribbean company to seriously promote the work of Caribbean literature, through performance. Henry was Director/Designer in Residence at Kiskadee Theatre, London (1976-79) and has been the Artist Director of the Cayman National Cultural Foundation since 1989. He apprenticed at the Theatre Guild of Guyana and went on to complete a Certificate in Advanced Theatre (Acting, Directing and Stage Management) at the University of the West Indies (Trinidad & Tobago). He later trained as a Theatre Designer at Croydon College of Art & Design, United Kingdom, majoring in Settings and Costumes and completed his master’s degree in Theatre Practices at Manchester University (Rose Bruford College), Kent, UK.

Henry has received numerous awards for his work as actor, director and designer, including an MBE from the British Monarchy, the CNCF Heritage Cross, the Order of Cayman (Officer) for his outstanding contribution to the development, preservation and celebration of Caymanian arts and culture and the Golden Arrow of Achievement for his contribution to Guyanese arts and culture, among others. Henry is married to CNCF Managing Director, Marcia Muttoo. They have three daughters.

DAVID BEREAUX

David Bereaux is a Vintage Calypso Artiste who began his professional performing career in 1991 in the calypso musical play entitled Sing the Chorus. This is a play written by Rawle Gibbons as the first installment of the Sing the Chorus Trilogy. In 1993 David won the Cacique Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the lead character in The Mighty Spoiler, the second installment of the trilogy Ah Wanna Fall.

Since then, David has done numerous theatrical productions before his career as a Vintage Calypso Singer took off in 1995. The David Bereaux and Friends Vintage Calypso Ensemble is now a well-established Vintage Calypso Band doing performances all over the Caribbean and the Cayman Islands. David himself has toured numerous times across North America and Europe.

David has decided to rekindle his love for the theatre. In so doing, over the past 12 months, he has been involved in three theatre productions and looks forward to showing his portrayal of Jackson Phillip in this edition of Derek Walcott’s classic comedy, Pantomime.

The John W. Holloway Endowed Chair in Dance and Theatre

The John W. Holloway Endowed Chair in Dance and Theatre provides these programs with funds on an annual basis. John W. Holloway, a TheatreUSF graduate, has systematically donated enhancement funds to build the theatre and dance programs to exceptional artistic status. The Holloway Endowed Chair has allowed both theatre and dance majors to work with renowned international artists in the creation of new work and in the preparation of interdisciplinary stage productions on important contemporary subjects.