Among early stage appearances, he was at London's New Theatre (now the Noël Coward Theatre) in October 1948, playing multiple roles in John Burrell's Old Vic company revival of "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus". At the Stratford Memorial Theatre in 1950, he was cast as Sir Thomas Lovell in "Henry VIII" (directed by Tyrone Guthrie), Abhorson in Peter Brook's production of "Measure for Measure" (which also went on tour in Germany), Decius Brutus in "Julius Caesar" (directed by Anthony Quayle), and - most notably - Edmund in "King Lear", starring and co-directed by John Gielgud.