Death of renowned theatre director

Ms Connor, an ethnomusicologist, musical director and one time backing singer to reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, passed away following a heart attack in the early hours of Saturday.

The flamboyant character was well known in the Leeds community, the city she made her home after arriving in the UK from Trinidad.

Her biggest success was Carnival Messiah, a stunning community musical which she devised and directed, which saw actors from the Caribbean work alongside people from the Yorkshire community, first seen at West Yorkshire Playhouse in 1999. The show was a major success.

In 2007, the show, which required a cast of over 100, was re-staged in a purpose-built theatre in the grounds of Harewood House, with David Lascelles working alongside Ms Connor as a producer.

A colourful character, she held a PhD in cultural studies, and her career had seen her serve as a senior teaching fellow at the University of Leeds from 1992 to 2004 and also as an associate music director at West Yorkshire Playhouse between 2001 and 2003. She had also taught at the Queen’s Royal College.

Her work was seen most recently on the stage of the Leeds theatre when her staging of The Harder They Come was seen at the theatre last year.

She was also a board member of the Playhouse.

Ms Connor’s work as a backing singer for Jimmy Cliff had been as part of a three-strong group of women, collectively known as The Sunbeams.