Rib Davis
Playwright
Biography
Since the late 1970s Rib Davis has pursued the dual careers of playwright and oral historian. For many projects, the two have been combined in community arts, often leading to large-scale oral history-based documentary plays, usually directed by himself. On other occasions, the scripts have been pure fiction and he has worked on many oral history projects with no theatrical outcome.
1993-95 Rib was Artistic Director of the leading documentary arts organisation, The Living Archive (winner, Living in Cities community art award 1994). 2003-2008 he oversaw the large scale oral history project for the Lightbox (winner, Arts Fund Award 2008).
As well as doing his own writing and interviewing, Rib carries out a great deal of training in both fields. At the British Library, he presents two courses, Introdution to Oral History and Transcript to Script (turning oral history into theatre). He also runs courses on various aspects of writing and has produced books on dialogue and characterisation.
Gallery
Credits
Theatre
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 CHARITY | Manchester Library | |
| 1982 GRAVEN IMAGES | Milton Keynes Festival | |
| 1983 A PENNORTH O' DUCK | South Normanton |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1984 A PARTICULAR JOURNEY | Milton Keynes |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1985 EVERY OTHER GARDEN 'AD A PIT | Eastwood |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1985 IT STARTS WITH THE ORE | Corby |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1986 COVENTRY MADE | Coventry |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1986 THIS SIDE OF THE BRIDGE | Cambridge |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1986 SPEND A SHILLING MORE | Touch and Go touring | |
| 1987 YOU COULD COUNT THE CHIMNEYS TO THE CHURCH | Cherry Hinton |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1987 YOU WOULDN'T DREAM OF IT TODAY | Loughborough |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1987 NO FUTHER CAUSE FOR CONCERN | Edinburgh/ Cardiff |
Winner, Edinburgh Fringe 1st |
| 1991 HOMEWORK FOR ANNETTE | Northampton |
For young people |
| 1991 TWO COUNTRY VILLAGES | Shenley |
For young people |
| 1991 WEST END, BEST END! | Derby |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1992 WORKER BY NAME | Living Archive |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1992 CARTAGENA! | Northampton touring | |
| 1995 OPEN ARMS | High Wycombe |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1995 THIS WAS A VILLAGE | Chiselhurst |
For young people |
| 1995 WHEN THE LIGHTS GO ON AGAIN | Age Exchange |
Co-written with Pam Schweitzer |
| 1996 BIGGER, BRIGHTER, BETTER | Bletchley |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1996 RIVERHEAD LIVES | Riverhead |
For young people |
| 1997 BRICKS AND BARGES | Slough |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1998 NET CURTAINS AND KIPPERS | Buckinghamshire |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 1998 CHASING TOPOLIS | Palace Productions | |
| 1998 FETLOCK TO FORECOURT | South Bucks touring | |
| 2000 CHUCK OUT YOUR MOULDIES | East Greenwich |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 2000 WHAT WAS COMING TO HIM | Y-Care International |
For young people |
| 2000 MORETON MADE | Maids Moreton |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 2003 PIONEERS | Sheerwater, Woking |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 2004 THEY'RE NOT FROM HERE | Chertsey |
For young people |
| 2006 THE PRINCESS, THE PALACE AND THE ICE-COLD BATH | Esher |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 2011 THE VISION | Woking |
Large-scale doc drama |
| 2014 THE FIGHT IN THE DOG | Playing for Time |
Commission for production at HMP Winchester |
| 2018 THE SWORD OF ALEX | Beyond the Pale |
Other
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 INTERGALACTIC PLAYS | Milton Keynes | |
| 1979 PEOPLE'S POEMS | People's Press |
Editor |
| 1980 WRITE HERE | ||
| 1981 NIELSEN'S FIFTH | Milton Keynes | |
| 1982 A DERBYSHIRE TOWN REMEMBERED | PostMill Press |
Editor |
| 1983 MILTONI THE GRAND | Miton Keynes | |
| 1983 TALES FROM JUNCTION 28 | PostMill Press |
Editor |
| 1985 MEMORIES FROM SHIREBROOK | Shirebrook |
Editor |
| 1985 WHERE THE TRAINS USED TO RUN | ||
| 1995 A WORKING CLASS WAR | ||
| 1995 SOUTHWARK AT WAR | Southwark |
Editor |
| 1996 WINTER WARMERS | Age Exchange |
Co-Editor |
| 1998/2003/2008/2016 WRITING DIALOGUE FOR SCRIPTS | Bloomsbury | |
| 1999 SETTLER'S TALES | Greenwich | |
| 2000 DESTINATION GREENWICH | Greenwich | |
| 2000 AN HYSTERICAL WALK | Greenwich | |
| 2000 DREAMERS' WELCOME | Derbyshire | |
| 2001 DEVELOPING CHARACTERS FOR SCRIPT WRITING | Bloomsbury | |
| 2007 WOKING LIVING WORDS | The Lightbox |
Editor |
| 2016 CREATING COMPELLING CHARACTERS | Bloomsbury |
Revision of 2001 book |
Radio
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 TUTORIAL | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1979 YOUR OWN BOSS | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1980 CAN'T COMPLAIN | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1980 WHY | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1981 FAMILY | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1983 CORRIDOR | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1984 A FEW KIND WORDS | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1985 DUST | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1988 RICHIE'S LAW | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1989 THE PEOPLE'S WOMAN | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1990 ADD LIFE TO YEARS | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1992-3 MURDER MOST FOUL | BBC Radio 4 |
Part series |
| 1993 BETRAYERS | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1993 THE LADY OF THE DIAGRAM | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1996 BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT | BBC Radio 4 |
Series |
| 1998 UNWRITTEN LAW | BBC Radio 4 |
Series |
| 1999 CARRIE'S WAR | BBC Radio 4 |
Adaptation |
| 2000 UNWRITTEN LAW | BBC Radio 4 |
Series |
| 2001 EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE | BBC Radio 3 |
Documentary |
| 2008 WOMEN FROM THE VALE | BBC Worcester |
Documentary drama series |
Television
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 NO FURTHER CAUSE FOR CONCERN | BBC | |
| 1990-92 THE BILL | Carlton | |
| 1994 THE PASSIONATE STATISTICIAN | BBC |
