German Reed Entertainments
The German Reed Entertainments were founded in 1855 and operated by Thomas German Reed (1817–1888) together with his wife, Priscilla German 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
The German Reed theatrical revolution
This form of entertainment consisted of musical plays "of a refined nature". During the early
The stage was at a low ebb, Elizabethan glories and Georgian artificialities had alike faded into the past, stilted tragedy and vulgar farce were all the would-be playgoer had to choose from, and the theatre had become a place of evil repute to the righteous British householder.... A first effort to bridge the gap was made by the German Reed Entertainers....[1]
The German Reed Entertainments became the first respectable venue for dramatic amusement to which the public could safely bring their children, presenting gentle, intelligent, comic musical entertainment. Their example showed that respectable theatre could be popular and encouraged successors such as Gilbert and Sullivan.[1]
Forty years of entertainments
Early years
In 1855, the first performance of "Miss P. Horton's Illustrative Gatherings," took place at St. Martin's Hall, with Thomas playing the piano. Mrs. Reed had been a popular performer of operetta, Shakespeare and other theatre pieces since the 1830s. The Reeds' entertainments consisted, at first, of character sketches and songs by the Reeds.[2] In 1856, the entertainments moved to the more intimate Gallery of Illustration. These eventually became "Mr. and Mrs. German Reeds Entertainments". They called the establishment, euphemistically, the "Gallery of Illustration," rather than a theatre, the actors were "entertainers", and the pieces were called "entertainments" or "illustrations", eschewing the words "play", "extravaganza", "melodrama" or "burlesque". Reed himself composed the music for many of these pieces and often appeared in them, along with Mrs. German Reed. There was nothing else like this establishment in London, and the Gallery rapidly achieved popularity.[3][4]
The Gallery was an intimate 500-seat theatre. The accompaniment consisted of piano at first, and later also a
As time went on, the Reeds added a dramatic pieces and brief comic operas designed for a small number of characters. Reed experimented with what he called opera di camera - small chamber operas by young composers. The German Reeds were able to attract fine young composers such as Molloy, Frederic Clay, Arthur Sullivan, Charles King Hall.[7] and Alfred Cellier, the best scenic designers for their tiny stage, and the best young writers from Punch and Fun magazines.[citation needed]
Later years
The dramatist
Other German Reed entertainments included Our Quiet Chateau (1868) by Reece with music by Virginia Gabriel; Inquire Within (1868, Parry's last entertainment); Beggar My Neighbour (1870) and Number 204, by Burnand; Near Relations (1871) by Arthur Sketchley;[6] King Christmas (1871, the first appearance by the German Reeds' son, Alfred); Charity Begins at Home (1872), with music by Alfred Cellier and words by B. C. Stephenson; My Aunt's Secret (1872); Very Catching (1872); Milord's Well (1873);[2] Dora's Dream, with music by Alfred Cellier and words by Arthur Cecil (1873); Once in a Century by Gilbert à Beckett; In Possession; Babel and Bijouand; Back from India by Henry Pottinger Stephens; Our New Doll’s House by W. Wye.
After the retirement of Thomas, in 1871 his son Alfred German Reed (1846-1895), also an actor, carried on the business in partnership with his mother and then with Grain. In 1874 they moved the entertainments to the
Mrs. German Reed retired in 1879. The deaths of Alfred German Reed and Grain, both in 1895, effectively ended the entertainments,[12] although the name continued to be used by others for some years thereafter.[14]
Notes
- ^ a b Bond, Jessie and Ethel Macgeorge. Introduction to The Life and Reminiscences of Jessie Bond, John Lane (1930). Reprinted at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive
- ^ a b c d e Adams, p. 573
- ^ "Obituary: Thomas German Reed", The Times, 26 March 1888, p. 9
- ^ Woodbridge Wilson, Frederic. "Reed, Thomas German", Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed 31 January 2013 (subscription required)
- ^ The Times obituary of George Grossmith, 2 March 1912
- ^ a b Lee, Sidney, ed. (1896). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 47. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 395.
- ^ Charles King Hall was a British composer and organist who supplied the music for The Happy Bungalow in 1877 and Missing in 1894, among others.
- ^ Smith, J. Donald. "W. S. Gilbert's Operas for the German Reeds", Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 7 November 2001, accessed 7 February 2017
- ^ Stone, David. "Fanny Holland (1879–80)", Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 25 October 2002, accessed 7 February 2017
- ^ The Times, 2 June 1881, p. 8
- ^ Review of Nobody’s Fault Archived 2007-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b St George's Hall, Langham Place, Regent Street, London", at the ArthurLloyd theatres website
- ^ "The German Reed Entertainment", The Standard, 2 March 1882, p. 3; "Mr and Mrs German Reed's Entertainment", The Era, 4 March 1882, p. 13; and "Mr and Mrs German Reed's Entertainment", The Morning Post, 6 March 1882, p. 2
- ^ Souvenir programme for Mr. and Mrs. German Reed's Entertainments, summer and autumn tour, 1900, Joseph Williams, proprietor, under the direction of Avalon Collard. Joseph Williams, Jr. (1847–1923) had composed music for some German Reed pieces under the name Florian Pascal Archived 14 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine
References
- Adams, William Davenport. A Dictionary of the Drama, Chatto & Windus, 1904
- Stedman, Jane W. (1996). W. S. Gilbert, A Classic Victorian & His Theatre. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816174-3.
- Stedman, Jane, ed. (1967). Gilbert Before Sullivan. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.