THEATRE DIRECTOR
William’s directing career spans decades, from directing Donald Sutherland in Two for the Seesaw at the Chesterfield Rep, Brian Cox in A Man for All Seasons at the Dundee Rep in the early sixties to directing No Man's Land in Vancouver in November 2022. In between he has directed well over 150 plays in various theatres across Canada, the UK, and the US.
Back in the day he directed three plays at The Vancouver Playhouse, Candida, Mrs. Mouse, Are You Within, and, The Diary of Anne Frank.
William B. Davis recently directed:
A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt (2015)
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily by Katie Forgette (2014-2015)
The Habit of Art by Alan Bennett (September 2013),
Hay Fever by Noel Coward (September 2011)
Waste by Harley Granville Barker (January 2011)
Mr. Davis' staging of Barbara Ellison's Matters Domestic played at The Vancouver International Fringe Festival in 2009; Matters Domestic was one of the few Fringe shows selected for holdover. All shows have been well received and reviewed.
STILL PICTURES OF "THE HABIT OF ART"
FROM THE PRESS:
The Habit of Art "Director William B. Davis once again proves himself to be an actors’ director, playing up nuance after nuance of the emotional entanglements, not only with respect to his principals, but also the brightly shining lesser lights, and yielding up collaborative, interactive excellence in a highly watchable play."
Review Vancouver
2013 by Roger Wayne Eberle
Previous artistic leadership:
Producer/Artistic Director, The Straw Hat Players, Ontario
Associate Director/Manager, The Civic Theatre, Chesterfield, UK
Artistic/General Director, The Dundee Repertory Theatre, Dundee, UK
Assistant Director, The National Theatre of Great Britain
Artistic Director, The National Theatre School of Canada
Artistic Director, Festival Lennoxville, Lennoxville, Quebec
Producer and Executive Producer, CBC Radio Drama
Artistic Director, Vancouver Playhouse Theatre School
Founder/Artistic Director, The William Davis Centre for Actors’ Study
In addition to his work with these companies, Davis has worked as a freelance director with many theatres in Britain as well as most of the regional theatres in Canada, including The Neptune Theatre in Halifax, The Globe Theatre in Regina, Theatre New Brunswick and three times at The Vancouver Playhouse. In 1975, he received the Best Director Award from The Montreal Star.