German Reed Entertainment was founded in 1855 and operated by Thomas German Reed (1817–1888) together with his wife, Priscilla Reed née Horton (1818–1895). At a time when the theatre in London was seen as a disreputable place, the German Reed family provided family-friendly entertainments for forty years, showing that respectable theatre could be popular.
The entertainments were held at the intimate Royal Gallery of Illustration, Lower Regent Street, and later at St. George's Hall, Langham Place, in London. Thomas and Priscilla German Reed usually appeared in them, together with a small group of players. They engaged talented newcomers, such as Frederic Clay, W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Law, as well as established writers like F. C. Burnand, to create many of the entertainments. Thomas German Reed composed the music for many of the entertainments himself.
Read more about German Reed Entertainment: The German Reed Theatrical Revolution
Famous quotes containing the words german and/or reed:
“Sometimes, because of its immediacy, television produces a kind of electronic parable. Berlin, for instance, on the day the Wall was opened. Rostropovich was playing his cello by the Wall that no longer cast a shadow, and a million East Berliners were thronging to the West to shop with an allowance given them by West German banks! At that moment the whole world saw how materialism had lost its awesome historic power and become a shopping list.”
—John Berger (b. 1926)
“And pray for me also under the draughty stair.
As we get older we do not get any younger.
And pray for Kharma under the holy mountain.”
—Henry Reed (1914–1986)