David graduated from RADA in 1983. He began work with seasons at the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre, Bristol Old Vic and The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield.
Leading roles in original West End productions include: Cats, Evita, Blondel, Great Expectations, Little Shop of Horrors, Loot and the New York Shakespeare Festival production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. As well as The Russian in Chess, Drake in Traitors, Carl in Sean Devlin’s triology The Man Who Tried to Be Good, Border Lies and A Place Among Saints, Ratcatcher in Helen Sharman’s Shadowmoves, the Leading Player in Pippin, the Pinball Wizard in Tommy, Charles-Maurice Talleyrand in Napoleon and Germont in the award winning Donmar Warehouse production of La Traviata. Also the title role in Edmund Kean Tragedian (Evening Standard nomination), M. Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities, Vic Christian in Closer to Heaven and Pontius Pilate in the Lyceum Theatre production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
With the RSC David originated the role of the revolutionary leader Enjolras in the Barbican and Palace Theatre production of Les Miserables. A year later he began two seaons at Stratford-upon-Avon and London. Roles included Amiens Le Beau in As You Like It, Captain Macheath in John Caird’s production of The Beggar’s Opera (Olivier nomination for Best Actor), Dollabella in Antony and Cleopatra, and Tambourlaine the Great. Tours include the roles of Steve in Sport of My Mad Mother, Rumour in Henry IV Part I, Lovborg in Hedda Gabler and Mephistopheles in Doctor Faustus. Seasons at the Royal National Theatre include the Berliner Ensemble's Coriolanus, Jenkin in A Woman Killed with Kindness and Angel in Tyger Tyger. With Trevor Nunn’s Ensemble 1999-2000: Menelaus in Troilus and Cressida, the Governor of Buenos Aires in Candide, the Frog in Honk, Mr Peachum in The Villain’s Opera and the Duke in The Merchant of Venice.
David played the psychotic transvestite Petal in Boy George’s Taboo and Ernest Hemingway in Beautiful and Damned at the Lyric Theatre. He has also been working on preparatory readings of Hugh Whitemore’s translation of Tolstoy’s War and Peace in the role of the narrator Bilibin. Most recenlty he appeared as the infamous Rufus Griswold in Eric Woolfson’s filmed production of Edgar Allen Poe at the Abbey Road Studios, Brighton Rock at the Almeida, The Far Pavillions at Shaftesbury Theatre, Women in White at Palace Theatre,
Showboat at The Royal Albert Hall and Promises and Lies at Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
Television credits include Agamemnon in the BBC’s The Trojan Horse and the Duke of Venice
in Trevor Nunn’s award winning production of The Merchant of Venice.
