Herbert Farjeon was a major figure in the British theatre from 1910 until his death. He was a presenter of revue

Revue

A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...

s in London's West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

, a theatre critic, lyricist, librettist, playwright, theatre manager and researcher.

His father was the novelist Benjamin Leopold Farjeon. His mother, Margaret Jefferson, was the daughter of the American actor, Joseph Jefferson

Joseph Jefferson

Joseph Jefferson, commonly known as Joe Jefferson , was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous of all American comedians....

. His sister was Eleanor Farjeon

Eleanor Farjeon

Eleanor Farjeon was an English author of children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Many of her works had charming illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her correspondence has also been published...

, the writer of children's verse and stories. His brothers were Harry Farjeon

Harry Farjeon

Harry Farjeon was a British composer.He was born in Hohokus, New Jersey, USA, the eldest son of Jewish author Benjamin Farjeon, and Margaret, the daughter of American actor Joseph Jefferson. His parents returned to Britain when he was a baby and he lived in Hampstead in London for the rest of his...

, the composer, and J. Jefferson Farjeon, who wrote novels. He was a conscientious objector

Conscientious objector

A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....

 in the First World War.

His first play to be performed, Friends, was put on at the Abbey Theatre

Abbey Theatre

The Abbey Theatre , also known as the National Theatre of Ireland , is a theatre located in Dublin, Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day...

, Dublin in 1917. Subsequently he had several plays performed in London. He was better known for his reviews than for his "straight" plays, however. These included: Spread It Abroad, The Two Bouquets, Nine Sharp, Little Revue, Diversion and Light and Shade. He is credited with discovering Joyce Grenfell

Joyce Grenfell

Joyce Irene Grenfell, OBE was an English actress, comedienne, diseuse and singer-songwriter.-Early life:...

, whose first stage appearance was in Light and Shade. In 1938, he joined the management of the Little Theatre

Little Theatre (disambiguation)

-in Canada:* Georgetown Little Theatre, Georgetown, Ontario* Kitchener Waterloo Little Theatre, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario* Ottawa Little Theatre, Ottawa, Ontario-in England:* The Little Theatre, a cinema in Bath* Little Theatre Gateshead, in Gateshead...

 in London, and his revues were performed there. His songs included "I've danced with a man, who's danced with a girl, who's danced with the Prince of Wales

I've danced with a man, who's danced with a girl, who's danced with the Prince of Wales

I've danced with a man, who's danced with a girl, who's danced with the Prince of Wales was a song written in 1927 by Herbert Farjeon at the height of the popularity of Edward, Prince of Wales -unprecedented to that date for an heir to the throne- later Edward VIII of the United Kingdom.The girl...

".

He wrote reviews of plays and articles about the theatre for a number of British newspapers and magazines, including the Daily Mirror, Vogue

Vogue (British magazine)

The British edition of Vogue is a fashion magazine that has been published since 1916.When British Vogue was launched, it was the first overseas edition of an existing fashion magazine. Under the magazine's first editor, Elspeth Champcommunal, the magazine was essentially the same as the American...

, The Listener and the Radio Times

Radio Times

Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...

. He was interested in the history of the theatre, and wrote about the Elizabethan theatre, Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

 and his plays, and edited a seven volume publication of the text of the First Folio

First Folio

Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. is the 1623 published collection of William Shakespeare's plays. Modern scholars commonly refer to it as the First Folio....

. In the 1940s he helped to save the Theatre Royal, Bristol when it was put up for sale and might have ceased to be a theatre.

He collaborated with his sister on a number of books, uncluding Kings and Queens (1932), The Two Bouquets (1938), An Elephant in Arcady (1939), and The Glass Slipper (1944)

He was a cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

enthusiast, and had a collection of pieces about the game published.