Barrington adopted his stage name by 1874 and made his professional debut with Henry Neville's company at the Olympic Theatre that year, playing the role of Sir George Barclay in Tom Taylor's "Lady Clancarty", and then in "The Ticket-of-Leave Man" (by Taylor) and as LaFleur in "The Two Orphans", among others. In July 1875, Barrington was playing Jules Frantz in "Lessons in Harmony" at St. George's Hall, London. A review in "The Era" reviewed the young actor's performance: "A good figure and expressive face were known to be among his advantages, but it was, perhaps, not suspected that he was a capital vocalist, a skilled musician, and an actor of remarkable ease and animation." Later that year, he was hired to appear in the touring company of Mr and Mrs Howard Paul. The company played a hectic schedule of entertainments.