Dave Sheasby (1940-2010)

Dave Sheasby wrote for radio, television and theatre for a number of years and also directed and produced work for BBC radio drama and documentary features. Combining both the writing and the direction roles in radio gave him an especially useful insight into the total production process. One of his plays won a Sony award for best drama and another, Welcome to the Times, was made into a feature film for BBC television. A second film starring Alexie Sayle was also part of the Screen Two series on BBC2.

He wrote over forty single radio dramas and several comedy series for BBC Radio 4 and continued to work in the radio features and drama worlds as an independent producer and writer until his death. His arts documentaries included programmes on the Beat poets, jazz and the theatre. He also wrote for the stage, and several dramas – for both radio and TV – were included in anthologies, including Best Radio Plays (Methuen). Later plays included a drama about conscientious objectors in the First World War and a comedy about fine art theft.

Dave Sheasby also undertook teaching and seminar work in higher education in the fields of media studies and creative writing.