R.I.P. Henk Tjon 1948-2009
Ringplay on Sep 19 2009 at 5:14 pm | Filed under: CARIFESTA, General Theatre, R.I.P.
Hard on the heels of Trevor Rhone’s passing comes news of the death of another Caribbean theatre giant: Surinamese director Henk Tjon.
If it weren’t for CARIFESTA, we would have never met Henk, nor would we have been exposed to his passion and his eloquence on the subject of the role of the arts in Caribbean society.
Most of the reports are in Dutch, so it’s hard to get specific information on his passing. However, he suffered a stroke in a few years ago, and when I met him again in Guyana (I first met him in Trinidad in 2004) it was clear that he was not well.
Henk was one of the architects of the New CARIFESTA Festival model (a model our country seems determined to reject). He will be remembered for its success when at last it is tested for real. He died too soon; he was only 61.
Walk good, Henk.
A bit late, but RIP my Surinamese brother.