Editing Michael Hordern (section)

====Theatrical beginnings====
Hordern left Brighton College in the early 1930s<ref>[http://www.oldbrightonians.com/notable-obs/film-theatre-television/sir-michael-hordern-c.-1925-30.html "Sir Michael Hordern (C. 1925–30)"], Oldbrightonians.com, accessed 31 January 2016.</ref> and secured a job as a teaching assistant in a [[Preparatory school (United Kingdom)|prep school]] in [[Beaconsfield]]. He joined an [[Amateur theatre|amateur dramatics]] company<ref>Hordern, pp. 29–30.</ref> and in his spare time, rehearsed for the company's only play, ''Ritzio's Boots'', which was entered into a British Drama League competition, with Hordern in the title role. The play did well but conceded the prize, a professional production at a leading London theatre, to ''Not This Man'', a drama written by [[Sydney Box]]. So envious was he of the rival show's success that Hordern supplied a scathing review to ''The Welwyn Times'' calling Box's show a "blasphemous bunk and cheap theatrical claptrap".<ref name="HORDERN30–31">Hordern, pp. 30–31.</ref> The comment infuriated Box, who issued the actor with a writ to attend court on a count of [[slander]]. Hordern won the case and left Box liable for the proceeding's expenses. Years later the two men met on a film set where Box, much to Hordern's surprise, thanked him for helping to kick-start his career in film making, as he had received a lot of publicity as a result of the court case.<ref name="HORDERN30–31" />

With the death of his mother in January 1933,<ref name="HORDERN35"/> Hordern decided to pursue a professional acting career. He briefly took a job at a prep school<ref name="HORDERN40">Hordern, p. 40.</ref> but fell ill with [[poliomyelitis]] and had to leave. Upon his recuperation,<ref name="HORDERN39">Hordern, p. 39.</ref> he was offered a job as a travelling salesman for the [[British Educational Suppliers Association]], a family-run business belonging to a former school friend at Windlesham House.<ref name="HORDERN39" /> As part of his job he spent some time in [[Stevenage]] where he joined an amateur dramatics company and appeared in two plays; ''[[Journey's End]]'', in which he played Raleigh, and ''Diplomacy'', a piece which the actor disliked as he considered it to be "too old-fashioned".<ref name="HORDERN40"/> Both productions provided him with the chance to work with a cue-script,<ref name="HORDERN40"/>{{#tag:ref|A cue-script was a script which featured cue-lines. Each cue-line acted as a prompt for the other performer.<ref name="HORDERN40" />|group= n}} something which he found to be helpful for the rest of his career. That summer he joined a Shakespearean theatre company which toured stately homes throughout the United Kingdom. His first performance was [[Orlando (As You Like It)|Orlando]] in ''[[As You Like It]]'', followed by ''[[Love's Labour's Lost]]'', in which he co-starred with Osmond Daltry.{{#tag:ref|Daltry came to serve as an officer in 135th regiment during the Second World War. He was captured in Singapore and held as a [[prisoner of war]], during which he organised camp shows to entertain fellow prisoners. He later made an attempt to escape from the camp, which left him with serious and lasting injuries.<ref>Davies, p. 76.</ref> Despite his disabilities he would later become a successful theatre manager.<ref name="HORDERN41" />|group= n}} Hordern admired Daltry's acting ability and later admitted to him being a constant influence on his Shakespearean career.<ref name="HORDERN41">Hordern, p. 41.</ref>

In addition to his Shakespearean commitments, Hordern joined the St Pancras People's Theatre, a London-based company partly funded by the theatrical manager [[Lilian Baylis]]. Hordern enjoyed his time there, despite the tiresome commute between Sussex and London, and stayed with the company for five years. By the end of 1936 he had left his sales job in Beaconsfield to pursue a full-time acting career.<ref>Hordern, pp. 41–42.</ref> He moved into a small flat at [[Marble Arch]] and became one of the many jobbing actors eager to make a name for themselves on the London stage.<ref>Hordern, p. 42.</ref>