John Mowat was born in and brought up in London, where he still occasionally lives. After being asked to leave school at the age of 16, he became an apprentice fitter/welder in the heating and ventilating industry. He then went on to study sculpture and subsequently attended the Royal Academy Schools in London. His career in theatre began in 1980 when he performed his first one-man show and in 1994 he co-founded Oddbodies Theatre Company in London. As a performer and director his highly visual style of comedy has toured over forty countries throughout the world. He first worked in Portugal in 1992, where he performed and taught at Chapito. He began working with Companhia do Chapito in 1998 and has since devised and directed numerous pieces with them. Mowat is now co-artistic director of the company. Mowat continues working on a variety of projects in the UK, Portugal and Brazil.