Internationally acclaimed theatre and opera director Helena Kaut-Howson was born in Poland, and trained at the Polish Academy of Theatre in Warsaw and RADA in London. She has worked extensively in the UK and Poland, as well as the USA, Canada, Israel, Ireland and Japan. She has directed over 100 theatre and opera productions, also venturing into television. Several of her productions won prestigious awards in the UK and abroad. From 1992 to 1995 Helena was artistic director of Theatr Clwyd, Wales. Her vision and adventurous policy raised the profile of that theatre to an international league and attracted many major artists, including Sir Anthony Hopkns and Julie Christie. Currently working as a freelance director she divides her time between the UK and Poland. Helena's work featured in several radio programmes and in a 60 minute BBC documentary Breaking the Mold. Parallel with her professional career, Helena pursues her commitment to the training of actors by regularly teaching at LAMDA and RADA where she is an Associate.
 
"Even when the material is familiar, her treatment tends to place it in an imaginatively widened perspective...It is her gift to take you from the known to the unknown, without betraying the point of origin."
Irving Wardle – The Independent on Sunday 1995


"Helena Kaut-Howson is one of the top directors in this country. Her work is characterised by both intense passion and meticulous attention to detail. She brings a continental dimension to the sometimes narrow world of British theatre. her directing style is both analytical and intuitive, resulting in a richness that tingles all the senses."
Robin Thornber – The Guardian 1996


"Her productions make waves and always attract full houses."
Bob Roberts – The Stage 2002


"Her direction achieves a fusion of love, and violence, courage and sensitivity, relentless pursuit of truth and stunning artistic imagination."
Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland 2007

"One of our most innovative directors"
Michael Billington – The Guardian 2017

© Helena Kaut-Howson 2021