Rundown Returns to Spread Laughter, Not COVID!

After a self-imposed quarantine in 2020 due to a global pandemic, Rundown has returned in 2021 to spread laughter, not COVID. Produced by the Cayman National Cultural Foundation (CNCF), Cayman’s most hilarious comedy show is back for its 28th season with its usual laugh-out-loud mix of comedy, satire and songs about living life in Cayman told through a collection of skits, monologues and music. The show is rated PG.

Created by then long-time resident Dave Martins in 1991, Rundown is now embedded in the cultural psyche of the Cayman public. People look forward to a mention in the show and count it an honour to be featured in Rundown. When the show first started in 1992, it was described as “one step closer to defining Caymanian theatre” by Henry Muttoo CNCF Artistic Director, designer and director of Rundown since 1992 and also its writer since the mid-2000s.

“Rundown has always been a cathartic experience for both the playwright and the audience member who engages in the theatre experience. The show loosely reflects on some of what has taken place in our country over the past year, processing it through the lens of humour. For almost 30 years this show has held up a mirror to our collective faces and made us laugh at ourselves and celebrate the quirky bits of our society and the larger-than-life characters in our community. Never pointing fingers, we aim to lift the audience members’ spirits and, perhaps, help them recognise the unique aspects of our culture,” said Henry Muttoo, CNCF Artistic Director.

“This year CNCF has afforded wider opportunity to one of our more talented actors and writers, Matt Brown, to engage in the writing process and he has not disappointed. Matt has contributed to at least two other Rundown scripts. His sense of humour will be immediately apparent as audiences watch his work in this production. Another young theatre enthusiast, Jevaughnie Ebanks, who has been engaged with CNCF, has also made contributions to the writing in the form of ideas and a short skit that has been adapted. For CNCF, this means planning for the future and welcoming young creatives, who will eventually come into their own as writers, and keep our Rundown, and other traditions, alive into the future”, Muttoo added.

This year’s edition will include many familiar faces, as well as some newcomers to the mix.

Matt Brown

Matt Brown has walked stages across the Caribbean. He performs a mixture of the arts, including music, storytelling, acting, playwriting and more. Matt Brown’s philosophy is simple, “Don’t dwell on the past, don’t fear the future, live in the present moment.” Enjoy the show!

Leroy Holness

Leroy is a veteran of the Cayman stage, going back to the days of the Inn Theatre and Cayman National Theatre Company. While he has played in several productions and received much praise for his acting, it is as the indefatigable and always forward-looking Rasta ‘Ital’ in Rundown where he has left his indelible creative stamp in the hearts of the Cayman theatre public. Leroy is the last remaining active member of the original 1992 Rundown cast and has the distinction of performing in every edition of the show.

Jevy Ebanks

Jevy began performing at the tender age of 11 years old at the Cayman National Cultural Foundation and in National Children’s Festival of the Arts. He progressed over the years, performing for over 12 years in the International Story Telling Festival Gimistory and other CNCF Productions including Downside Up by Dr. Frank McField and the annual Rundown comedy revue.

Jevy has represented the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Arts Festivals (CARIFESTA) in Barbados and Trinidad. At 24-years old, Jevy studies Film and Television Production at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom. He owns and operates a local video and audio production company, Jevy Ebanks Productions.

Giselle Webb

Giselle Webb can justifiably now call herself a true “Rundown Idiot”, having performed in four editions of the show. She has been a long-standing senior member of Dance Unlimited and although she does not perform as often as she would like, she still is considered one of Cayman’s most accomplished dancers. Giselle recently added a beautiful daughter, Gia, to the Caymanian population. With the amount of time Gia has spent on the Rundown set who knows how long it will be before she is ready for a role herself. Look out Cayman!

Evana Martinez

Evana Martinez has been performing from the tender age of five when she knew her passion was the performing arts. As a young girl she performed in church choirs, school dances, a George Town quadrille group and performed various excerpts from theatre plays at the Cayman Islands National Festival of the Arts. She has performed on international stages in places such as Las Vegas, Texas, Birmingham, Alabama and Scotland, and has been a storyteller at Gimistory. Evana also sang during a few of the past “Rundown” shows where her musical talent was put to use and she is honoured to be a part of Rundown again.

Rachel Gepolla

Rachel studied Business Management at the University of the Philippines in the Visayas and worked for 10 years as a sales assistant before becoming a nanny/housekeeper wearing multi-coloured hats, some which fit, and others which don't! Rachel is a friendly ‘Mama Goose’ with a strong work ethic and positive attitude who loves reading and listening to mellow and country music. She says gardening is her stress reliever and eating is her favourite past-time while “doing the karaoke” with friends.

Josefa Martinez

Josefa has been performing for over 25 years. She acted in Rundown for the first time in 2007 and is no stranger to comedy. From a young age she has performed and represented the Cayman Islands internationally in Jamaica, New York and Canada. She was a part of Steel Pan group, Panoramers/Cayman School for Pan, for over 20 years which also allowed her to perform abroad.

In 2000 Josefa was crowned the first Miss Cayfest. In 2001 she entered the Miss Teen pageant and won “Best Talent” for playing pan and reciting a monologue. At her high school graduation she won the CNCF award. Her most recent accomplishment with the arts was receiving a co-starring role in a Cayman short film called “Easy Listening”. She has also starred in two other short films abroad, as well as a local one called “Secrets”, for which she was the Executive Producer. She is excited to perform on the stage once again with her fellow cast members.

Colin Wilson

Colin was born in England but has lived more than half of his life here in the Cayman Islands. He has been married to Caymanian Joan Watler for almost 39 years. It would be easier to list what he hasn’t done in relation to the arts. In fact, his only artistic feat he hadn’t achieved was to appear on stage in “Rundown”. Now he has accomplished that. He says a big “Thank you” to Henry, even though the one line and brief appearance on stage he had asked for, didn’t quite go to plan...

Colin was involved in ‘Pirates Week’ for over 25 years, notably playing the Governor (he is reprising that role now) and writing and directing “The Landing Scenario” and “The Trial of the Pirates”. Whilst his stage work was mainly with the Cayman Drama Society, where he directed, acted and was eight times President, he has also worked with CNCF. These projects include acting – “Sound of Music”, “Joseph & the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat”; writing and directing one of the Christmas productions; winning a CNCF playwriting competition which he also directed when it was staged; and appearing in Gimistory. He was also one of the CNCF’s playwriting tutors.

Colin has written 15 stage plays. All have been performed in Cayman, five have been published and he is currently writing another one.

The Big Kahuna

Mike Powell popularly known as “The Big Kahuna” is a comic, writer, actor and radio host. He has appeared in movies “Into the Blue” and “Luna’s Ring”.

Janae Whittaker

A newcomer to the stage, Jenae Whittaker has had some experience practising the arts. She designs costumes, loves poetry, playing the piano and music in general, and won a gold award at the National Children’s Festival of the Arts. She has been a Cayman Islands and Commonwealth Youth Parliamentarian and has represented the Cayman Islands at the Caribbean Student Colloquium in New York.

Jenae is currently home on term-break from the University of Sussex where she is pursuing a B.A (Hons.) degree in Anthropology and Cultural Studies. Jenae hopes to use her knowledge as a tool to promote and preserve the culture and heritage of the Cayman Islands. She is expected to graduate in Fall 2022.

This year’s show will take place at the Harquail Theatre over two weekends in March. Opening night is Thursday, 18 March at 8pm.

• March 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27 at 8:00 pm

• March 21 and 28 at 6:00 pm

Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for children 16 and under and seniors 65+ (ID required). They can be purchased online at eventpro.ky or at Funky Tangs, Fosters Camana Bay, Healthcare Pharmacy Grand Harbour and the CNCF Office.

To reserve tickets, or for more information on Rundown, email cncf@artscayman.org, call 949.5477 or check out the CNCF’s official Facebook page @caymanculture.