DAVID REED
Playwright, Actor & Comedian
Written by and Starring
HUMPHREY KER and DAVID REED
with Original Songs by
ANDREW LLOYD-WEBBER and TIM RICE
GUARDIAN
THEATRE FLYER
STAGE DOOR JOE
CULTURE BAB
WHATSONSTAGE
REVIEWS HUB
BUM ON A SEAT
FASHION MOMMY
FAIRY POWERED
THEATRE & TONIC
BRUM HOUR
BROMSGROVE
STANDARD
ALL THAT DAZZLES
MUSICAL THEATRE
REVIEW
"Utterly extraordinary"
FAIRY POWERED
"The Perfect Christmas Show"
REVIEWS HUB
"Absolutely hilarious"
BUM ON A SEAT
About
"Reed is a master of the thrown-in detail that snags your sympathy for a character." - Independent
David began his career with multi-award winning comedy trio The Penny Dreadfuls, with whom he wrote and starred in five Edinburgh Fringe shows, two series of The Brothers Faversham for the BBC, followed by a string of ten comedy plays.
In 2011 he brought Shamblehouse to the festival, a solo character comedy show about lost souls.
He's since appeared in television drama series Endeavour, Adult Material, Beyond Paradise and Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me playing comedy legend Peter Cook, as well as sitcoms Daddy Issues, Siblings, Ghosts & Drifters.
His theatrical debut was writing and starring in Guy Fawkes, which premiered at York Theatre Royal in 2022. His follow up play, Sherlock Holmes & The 12 Days of Christmas was co-written with Humphrey Ker and features original songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice. It premiered at The Birmingham Rep in November 2025. His television writing debut, also in 2025, was the finale of Series 2 of Daddy Issues on BBC One starring Aimee Lou Wood and David Morrisey, co-written with the show's creator Danielle Ward.
A talented improviser, David has performed on BBC Two's Fast & Loose, Olivier Award winning Showstopper: The Improvised Musical and is a regular guest with The Comedy Store Players and Austentatious.
He is the creator of spoof interview show Inside the Comedian.
GALLERY
The Skinny
"From the moment he walks on stage, Reed is completely believable as each of his characters. This is not the masks and wigs school of character comedy. Reed is a superb actor and embraces the full physicality of each of his creations, and yet there is always a flicker of the man himself smiling knowingly and joyfully out of his eyes."
Edinburgh Festivals
"Dodging and diving between characters as deftly as can be hoped for, he doesn’t appear to even pause for breath, let alone drop one of the many balls he simultaneously keeps in the air. This show is deliciously mad... batty entertainment for all ages—enjoy!"
REVIEWS
The Independent
"Reed is a master of the thrown-in detail that snags your sympathy for a character. There's no shortage of heart and soul in Reed's work... and it's this that makes it soar."
Broadway Baby
"His control of the space and the attention of his audience are beyond question. Whenever his characters enter into pure narrative he invokes a rapt silence, and on occasion draws laughs from the audience with little more than a glance."
Chortle
"The darkness of the humour put the laughter on hold as the audience collectively held their breath for the denouement... Reed knew exactly what he was doing and he appeared confident in his ability to control the audience's response: he knew the laughter would return when he willed it."
FringeReview
"There is no questioning it: David Reed is cool. He owns the room before the show even starts. But he’s also really likeable, clearly enjoying himself, and throwing so much energy and commitment into his work that it’s near impossible not to be attracted by it. Billed as a one-man sketch show, this actually is some of the finest character comedy I’ve ever seen."
