David Sheasby (20 September 1940 – 26 February 2010) was a playwright, director, dramatist and radio producer who was based in Sheffield, England. 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 The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

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. He started his radio career in 1967 at Radio Sheffield 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. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

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

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

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 lon ...

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 and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

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 Blackburn Files'' and '' Street and Lane''. His dramatisations of Erich Maria Remarque's novel '' All Quiet on the Western Front'', the 2009 dramatisation of

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...

'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 experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to his ...

'' 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 British literature, English novelist, publisher, teacher and eccentric. Biography Carr was born in Carlton Miniott in the North Riding of Yorksh ...

'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. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broad ...

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 Academics of the University of Leeds