Dr Brian Heap, an English-born educator known for his work in theatre, died on Sunday after a prolonged, undisclosed illness.

He was 73 years old.

“He had a rough couple of months as he had been ailing for some time. He was very ill but he hung in there. But as they say, death can be kind because you don’t want to see someone you love suffer,” actress and director Nadean Rawlins told Observer Online. 

“I am comforted to know that he is at ease wherever he is now,” she continued.

Rawlins met Dr Heap in 1998 when he directed her in only her second stint as an actress at the annual National Pantomime. They became close friends, confidantes and colleagues and remained so since that time. She said she recognised just how skilful Dr Heap was at his art when he revamped the University Players and recruited her as a lead actress in the productions.

“I did the first one, then 10 consecutive ones, and that was where I recognised his skill as a director. The University Players was different from the National Pantomime in terms of it being more dramatic and more experimental theatre as opposed to Pantomime which is like a musical. Brian was minimalistic in his approach, but he was full on in his lighting, his artistic design, everything was done to his artistic direction, he was brilliant,” Rawlins said.

Rawlins said she owes her expertise as a director to Dr Heap’s mentorship.

“As a director myself, what I do now is a result of Brian’s tutelage and mentorship and kindness. He was always willing to share,” Rawlins said.

Dr Heap is the retired head of the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts at the University of the West Indies.

Dr Heap, who is proudly Jamaican by assimilation, came to Jamaica almost 50 years ago, for a two-year stint, and never left. He worked in theatre and education in Jamaica for over 40 years. A graduate teacher from northern England, he taught at St Joseph’s Teacher Training College and was director of studies at the Jamaica School of Drama (Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts).

Dr Heap served as artistic director for the University Players, whose productions of the Caribbean and other classic dramas garnered numerous accolades, including Jamaica’s annual International Theatre Institute Actor Boy Awards.

He had also been the staff tutor in Drama at the University of the West Indies since 1975.

In June 2020, Dr Heap was named the Caribbean regional winner of the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Competition. He partnered with the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts and allocated part of his prize money to the establishment of two contests, a playwriting and short story competition for students of the UWI.

— Claude Mills