Veteran of the local theatre Jean Hannant has died at the age of 90.

Ms Hannant was a stalwart at both the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Bermuda and the Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society, where she filled a number of roles both onstage and backstage.

She also had some success as a writer, winning the fourth annual Famous for Fifteen Minutes playwriting competition in 2005 with her play Old Sailors Never Die — a play she wrote in just three hours on an electronic typewriter.

“I like to do the whole thing in my head, so I can just type it out the way I want it,” she said shortly after her win.

“I made longhand notes just in terms of the order in which things were going to happen.

“It was just a series of headlines.

“When I am ready to write then I just write.”

Ms Hannant also served as chairman of the National Dance Theatre for more than a decade.

She and her sister were sent to the island by her parents in 1940 to escape the war.

While her sister returned to England at the conclusion of the war, Ms Hannant married and remained in Bermuda, where she became heavily involved in the arts.

Friend Carol Birch, who worked with Ms Hannant on many productions, said that her wit and character always shone through, regardless of what role she was playing.

“Whether she was on stage, writing plays for Famous, proofreading or backstage doing props — most of which came from her home — she was always such an inspiration and a great mentor to so many who stepped through Daylesford’s doors.

“You were always gently gathered in, tucked securely under her wing and taught the tricks of the trade from a true expert.”

Ms Hannant is survived by her five children, nine grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.