bio

Dave Carley is a Peterborough-born, Toronto-based playwright. His plays have had close to 500 productions across Canada, the United States and in many countries around the world. They include Midnight Madness, Writing with our Feet (nominated for the Governor General’s Award), After You, an adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel The Edible Woman, Taking Liberties, and Orchidelirium.

Dave is the former editor at the Playwrights Union of Canada (now Playwrights Guild) and, for many years, was both script editor at CBC Radio Drama and play editor for Scirocco Drama. 

Dave continues to write and direct plays. His most recent full-length works have been Twelve Hours (premiere: Columbus, Ohio, 2015); an adaptation of Al Purdy's novel A Splinter in the Heart (premiere: Prince Edward County, 2016); and Canadian Rajah (premiere: Toronto, 2019). He is currently completing two new full-length works for stage: Hope is a Bird and a stage adaptation of Farley Mowat's war memoir And No Birds Sang. Dave has also written a number of short works in the past decade, which have been widely produced across Canada, the US and in the UK.

Although he lives and works in Toronto, Dave considers himself a proud Peterburian and many of his plays are set in Peterborough. In 2022 he was inducted into that city's Pathway of Fame.

For performance rights, Dave is represented professionally by Pam Winter of GGA. Amateur rights to his plays are available from The Playwrights Guild. (See Contacts page for both co-ordinates.) Reading copies of many of his plays are available on this site. 

Dave Carley photo by Stephanie Hanna.