Editing Paul Scofield (section)

===1940–1959: Rise to prominence===
Scofield began his stage career in 1940 with a debut performance in American playwright [[Eugene O'Neill]]'s ''[[Desire Under the Elms]]'' at the [[Westminster Theatre]], and was soon being compared to [[Laurence Olivier]]. He played at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.  From there he went to the [[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre]] in Stratford, where he starred in [[Walter Nugent Monck]]'s 1947 revival of ''[[Pericles, Prince of Tyre]]''.<ref name="fref">[http://www.filmreference.com/film/98/Paul-Scofield.html Film Reference biography.] Access date: 16 November 2007.</ref>

In 1948, Scofield appeared as Hamlet at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford alongside a then unknown [[Claire Bloom]] as [[Ophelia]]. Scofield's performance was so highly praised that it caused him to be dubbed, "The Hamlet of his generation."<ref>Garry O'Connor, ''Paul Scofield: An Actor for All Seasons'', Applause Books (2002), p. 70.</ref> He was also Bassanio in ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' with Bloom as an Attendee. J.C. Trewin commented, "He is simply a timeless Hamlet... None could forget Scofield's pathos, the face folded in grief, at, 'When you are desirous to be blessed, I'll blessing beg of you.' We have known many correct, almost formal Hamlets, aloof from Elsinore. Scofield was ever a prisoner within its bounds: the world had many confines, wards, and dungeons, Denmark being one of the worst."<ref>Garry O'Connor, ''Paul Scofield: An Actor for All Seasons'', Applause Books (2002), p. 72.</ref>

John Harrison, Director of the [[Leeds Playhouse]], later recalled of Scofield's Hamlet, "'Get thee to a nunnery,' so often delivered with rage or scorn, he says so gently. You have visions of quiet and prayer. A future for Ophelia."<ref name="Garry O 2002 p. 76">Garry O'Connor, ''Paul Scofield: An Actor for All Seasons'', Applause Books (2002), p. 76.</ref> In her later book, ''[[Leaving a Doll's House: A Memoir]]'', Claire Bloom recalls that during the production she had a very serious crush on Scofield. As Scofield "was happily married and the father of a son", Bloom hoped only "to be flirted with and taken some notice of." But Scofield never so much as glanced at Bloom or any of the other pretty actresses in the cast.<ref name="Garry O 2002 p. 76"/> Unusually, the production had two Hamlets: Scofield and [[Robert Helpmann]] took turns playing the title role and Bloom later recalled, "I could never make up my mind which of my two Hamlets I found the more devastating: the openly homosexual, charismatic Helpmann, or the charming, shy young man from Sussex."<ref>''Leaving A Doll's House'', p. 43.</ref>

Scofield's versatility at the height of his career is exemplified by his starring roles in theatrical productions as diverse as the musical ''[[Expresso Bongo]]'' (1958) and [[Peter Brook]]'s celebrated production of ''[[King Lear]]'' (1962). Brook wrote in his memoir, ''Threads of Time'', "The door at the back of the set opened, and a small man entered. He was wearing a black suit, steel-rimmed glasses and holding a suitcase. For a moment we wondered who this stranger was and why he was wandering onto our stage. Then we realised that it was Paul, transformed. His tall body had shrunk; he had become insignificant. The new character now possessed him entirely."<ref>Peter Brook, ''Threads of Time. A Memoir.'' Counterpoint, 1999.</ref>