David Sheasby (20 September 1940 – 26 February 2010) was a playwright, director, dramatist and radio producer who was based in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The son of a building engineer, Sheasby was born in Fulwood, Sheffield. He was educated at King Edward VII School, where he was a county-standard cross-country runner. The only time he lived outside Sheffield was when he went to the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

to read history. Sheasby also trained as a teacher. Dave Sheasby's first wife, Helen Grainger, died from a brain tumour and in 2004 he married Eve Shrewsbury, who survives him along with three children from each marriage. They lived in the heart of

Nether Edge Nether may refer to: * The Nether, the hell-like dimension in the video game ''Minecraft'' * ''The Nether'', a sci-fi play * ''Nether'' (video game), a first-person multiplayer survival video game for Microsoft Windows See also *Kingdom of the ...

. He started his radio career in 1967 at

Radio Sheffield BBC Radio Sheffield is the BBC's local radio station serving South Yorkshire and north Derbyshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital television and via BBC Sounds from studios on Shoreham Street in Sheffield. According to RAJAR, the statio ...

as education producer and from 1988 onwards, worked for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. In addition to his work for the BBC, from 2002 to 2004 he taught Media Studies and Creative Writing at

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its long ...

fellow and taught Media Studies and Creative Writing at

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

as Royal Literary Fund fellow between 2004 until his death in 2010. His work includes a number of original plays and comedies including ''Apple Blossom Afternoon'', which in 1988 won a

Giles Cooper Award The Giles Cooper Awards were honours given to plays written for BBC Radio. Sponsored by the BBC and Methuen Drama, the awards were specifically focused on the script of the best radio drama produced in the past year. Five or six winners were chose ...

, ''The Blackburn Files'' and ''

Street and Lane ''Street and Lane'' is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy series written by Dave Sheasby and Ian McMillan. The show ran for two series which aired in 2005 and 2007. The first series featured Nicholas Lane as Johnny Street, with Shaun Dooley taking ove ...

''. His dramatisations of

Erich Maria Remarque Erich Maria Remarque (, ; born Erich Paul Remark; 22 June 1898 – 25 September 1970) was a German-born novelist. His landmark novel '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1928), based on his experience in the Imperial German Army during Worl ...

's novel ''

All Quiet on the Western Front ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' (german: Im Westen nichts Neues, lit=Nothing New in the West) is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental trauma du ...

'', the 2009 dramatisation of

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

's science fiction novel ''

Slaughterhouse-Five ''Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death'' is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to h ...

'' were also critically acclaimed. At the time of his death, he had just completed an adaptation of

J.L. Carr Joseph Lloyd Carr (20 May 1912 – 26 February 1994), who called himself "Jim" or "James", was an English novelist, publisher, teacher and eccentric. Biography Carr was born in Carlton Miniott in the North Riding of Yorkshire, next to Thirsk ...

's novel '' A Month in the Country''. He completed the dramatisation in a hospice bed with a borrowed laptop. It was broadcast as the

Saturday Play ''Saturday Drama'' (formerly ''The Saturday Play'') is a regular feature on BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of ...

in November 2010.
A Month in the Country
', BBC Radio 4, accessed 20 November 2010

References

External links

Sheffield Telegraph obituary by Paul Allen

Soundscape Productions

Dedicated website for ''Trimming Pablo''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheasby, Dave 1940 births 2010 deaths People educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield Alumni of the London School of Economics English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers