Table entertainment
Encyclopedia
Table entertainment was a form of English theatre
in the 18th and 19th centuries. A table entertainment was only partly musical in character, and was given by a single performer sitting at a table and telling stories and jokes, giving displays of mimicry, singing songs, and so forth.
The first table entertainments on record were performed by George Alexander Stevens
in Dublin in 1752. Charles Dibdin
began a series of table entertainments in London in 1789 and continued them for 20 years, introducing most of his songs in this way.
Perhaps the master of the table entertainment was Charles Mathews
, who began his show At Home or Mathews at Home, in the Lyceum Theatre
in 1808. According to Leigh Hunt
, Mathews's table entertainments were unparalleled "for the richness and variety of his humour, and were as good as half a dozen plays distilled." At Home combined mimicry, storytelling, recitations, improvisation, quick-change artistry, and comic song. Along with its rousing popularity on the English stage, Mathews had some success in twice bringing the show to the United States.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in the 18th and 19th centuries. A table entertainment was only partly musical in character, and was given by a single performer sitting at a table and telling stories and jokes, giving displays of mimicry, singing songs, and so forth.
The first table entertainments on record were performed by George Alexander Stevens
George Alexander Stevens
George Alexander Stevens was an English actor, playwright, poet, and songwriter. He was born in the parish of St. Andrews, in Holborn, a neighbourhood of London...
in Dublin in 1752. Charles Dibdin
Charles Dibdin
Charles Dibdin was a British musician, dramatist, novelist, actor and songwriter. The son of a parish clerk, he was born in Southampton on or before 4 March 1745, and was the youngest of a family of 18....
began a series of table entertainments in London in 1789 and continued them for 20 years, introducing most of his songs in this way.
Perhaps the master of the table entertainment was Charles Mathews
Charles Mathews
Charles Mathews was an English theatre manager and comic actor, well-known during his time for his gift of impersonation and skill at table entertainment...
, who began his show At Home or Mathews at Home, in the Lyceum Theatre
Lyceum Theatre
- United Kingdom :* Lyceum Theatre, London, a 2,000-seat West End theatre located in the City of Westminster* Lyceum Theatre , an Edwardian period Grade II listed building and theatre* Lyceum Theatre , a 1068-seat theatre in the City of Sheffield...
in 1808. According to Leigh Hunt
Leigh Hunt
James Henry Leigh Hunt , best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist, poet and writer.-Early life:Leigh Hunt was born at Southgate, London, where his parents had settled after leaving the USA...
, Mathews's table entertainments were unparalleled "for the richness and variety of his humour, and were as good as half a dozen plays distilled." At Home combined mimicry, storytelling, recitations, improvisation, quick-change artistry, and comic song. Along with its rousing popularity on the English stage, Mathews had some success in twice bringing the show to the United States.