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 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 such as F. C. Burnand, to create many of the entertainments. Thomas German Reed composed the music for many of the entertainments himself.

This form of entertainment consisted of musical plays "of a refined nature". During the early Victorian era, visiting the theatre was considered distasteful to the respectable public. Shakespeare and classic British plays were presented, but the London stage became dominated by risque farces, burlesques and bad adaptations of French operettas. Jessie Bond wrote,

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....

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.

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. 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.

The Gallery was an intimate 500-seat theatre. The accompaniment consisted of piano at first, and later also a harmonium and sometimes a harp. At first, the entertainments utilized a cast of three; but by the mid-1860s, they had expanded to pieces with a cast of four. Often the pieces' plots involved mistaken identities and disguises. From 1860 to 1868, the German Reeds were assisted by John Orlando Parry, a pianist, mimic, parodist and humorous singer (one of George Grossmith's inspirations). He created a new type of musical and dramatic monologue that became popular. The earliest entertainments included Holly Lodge and The Enraged Musicians (1855); William Brough's A Month from Home and My Unfinished Opera (1857); The Pyramid by Shirley Brooks (1864); A Peculiar Family by Brough (1865); The Yachting Cruise by F. C. Burnand (1866); Our Quiet Chateau by Robert Reece (1867); and Inquire Within by Burnand (1868).

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. and Alfred Cellier, the best scenic designers for their tiny stage, and the best young writers from Punch and Fun magazines.^{[citation needed]}