David Reed (born 26 May 1982) is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is one third of comedy troupe The Penny Dreadfuls.

Career

Reed studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. During his studies he performed with the

Edinburgh University Theatre Company Edinburgh University Theatre Company (EUTC) is a student theatre company at the University of Edinburgh. The EUTC was founded in 1871 as the ''Edinburgh University Amateur Dramatic Club'' and adopted its current name in the 1970s. Since 1980 it ha ...

, acting in, writing and directing two pantomime productions, and was a member of acclaimed

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...

troupe ''

The Improverts The Improverts is a improvisational comedy troupe from the Edinburgh University Theatre Company, which primarily performs at the Bedlam Theatre, Edinburgh. They perform weekly during Edinburgh University's term time and every night during t ...

''. It was with

that he first met and performed with fellow comedians

Humphrey Ker David Humphrey Rivers Ker (; born 11 October 1982) is a British actor, comedian, writer and football executive, who is a member of the sketch comedy troupe The Penny Dreadfuls. Early life and education Ker was born to David Peter James Ker ...

and

Thom Tuck Thomas Tuck (born 28 March 1982) is a British actor and comedian. He is known for being one third of comedy troupe The Penny Dreadfuls and as a stand-up comedian. He was nominated for the Best Newcomer award at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe ...

. He was also a frequent performer in the local comedy circuit and at

The Stand ''The Stand'' is an epic post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel written by American author Stephen King and first published in 1978 by Doubleday. The plot centers on a deadly pandemic of weaponized influenza and its aftermath, in which some of ...

. In 2008, Reed became the drummer for Karaoke Circus, a show where comedians perform songs with an accompanying live band. Since October 2011 he has co-hosted a weekly film podcast for

Absolute Radio Absolute Radio is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via digital audio broadcasting. The station focuses on alternative ...

with Karaoke Circus bassist

Danielle Ward Danielle Claire Ward is a British stand-up comedian and writer. Early life and education Danielle Claire Ward was born and raised in Nottingham. She graduated from university in 2004. Career Early career Ward worked as an economic researche ...

. In 2011 he performed his debut solo show Shamblehouse at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. in 2022, Reed's play ''Guy Fawkes'' was staged at

York Theatre Royal York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St Leonard's Place, in York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 750 people. Whilst the theatre is traditionally a proscenium theatre, it was reconfigured for a season in 2011 to off ...

from 28 October to 12 November.

The Penny Dreadfuls

Reed is probably best known for writing and performing alongside

and

in sketch comedy team ''The Penny Dreadfuls''. They performed their Victorian sketch show across Britain, including at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with ''Aeneas Faversham'' in 2006, ''Aeneas Faversham Returns'' in 2007 and ''Aeneas Faversham Forever'' in 2008. Their radio series The Brothers Faversham was first broadcast on

BBC 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It mostly broadcasts archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes, and is the sister station of Radio 4. It is the pri ...

in early January 2008. The second series, More Brothers Faversham, was aired in October 2008 and later repeated on Radio 4. In 2009 they presented a broadcast for BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play slot, Guy Fawkes. This covered the life of

Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educate ...

, his failed attempt to blow up Parliament and his subsequent interrogation in the Tower of London. Guest starring Kevin Eldon as Guy Fawkes, and also featuring

Miles Jupp Miles Hugh Barrett Jupp (born 8 September 1979) is an English actor and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian before playing the role of the inventor Archie in the children's television series ''Balamory''. He also played John Dugg ...

and Andrew Pugsley. In 2011 they produced another radio play, ''Revolution''. This time for the prestigious Saturday Play slot. Set in the aftermath of The French Revolution, it starred

Sally Hawkins Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is an English actress of stage and screen. She began her career on stage and then moved into film, for which she has received several accolades including a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominatio ...

as Marie-Therese, the only surviving daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, and Richard E. Grant as the villainous

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fer ...

Film Fandango

Since October 2011 he has co-hosted a weekly film podcast called Film Fandango for

with fellow comedian and partner

Shows

2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe *''Aeneas Faversham'' 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe *''Aeneas Faversham Returns'' 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe *''Aeneas Faversham Forever'' 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe *''The Never Man'' 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe *''The Penny Dreadfuls'' 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe *''David Reed Shamblehouse''

Television

*''Comedy Shuffle'' *''

The Wrong Door ''The Wrong Door'' is a comedy sketch show, that first aired on BBC Three on 28 August 2008. The sketch show was set in a parallel universe, employing a mix of celebrity cameos, impractical locations and CGI visual effects. As such, it was ini ...

'' *

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

Comedy Lab ''Comedy Lab'' is a British television series which showcases pilots of experimental comedy shows. Series have been aired irregularly on Channel 4 and E4 since 1998. Several pilots first shown on ''Comedy Lab'' have gone on to spawn full seri ...

''Ain't It Funny Being Coloured'' *As

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English comedian, actor, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishmen ...

in the BBC's ''Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me'' *As dodgy builder in '' Transmission Impossible with Ed & Oucho'' alongside Ed Petrie and Warrick Brownlow-Pike. *As Rupert Fanshaw in Gary: Tank CommanderGary Tank Commander (TV Series 2009)
imdb.com *'' Fast and Loose'' *''

It's Kevin ''It's Kevin'' is a British television sketch comedy show, created by and starring the actor and comedian Kevin Eldon. It was screened on BBC Two between March and April 2013. Reception Following the first episode, Serena Davies writing for Th ...

'' (2013) *As Brendan in ''

Father Figure A father figure is usually an older man, normally one with power, authority, or strength, with whom one can identify on a deeply psychology, psychological level and who generates emotions generally felt towards one's father. Despite the literal t ...

'' (2013) *''

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective. He is featured in 53 short stories by English author G. K. Chesterton, published between 1910 and 1936. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuition and ...

'' (2017) as Giles Foster in episode 5.11 "The Sins of Others" *''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

(2022)''

References

External links

Official David Reed website
*
Official show page for ShamblehouseOfficial Penny Dreadfuls websiteFilm Fandango on Absolute RadioOfficial Karaoke Circus website

Inside the Comedian Podcast on acast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, David 1982 births Living people 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Comedians from York English male comedians English male stage actors English male television actors English podcasters Male actors from York