Editing Michael Redgrave (section)

===World War II===
Once the London theatres were re-opened, after the outbreak of war, he played:
* Captain Macheath in ''[[The Beggar's Opera]]'', [[Theatre Royal, Haymarket]], March 1940
* Charleston in ''[[Thunder Rock (play)|Thunder Rock]]'', by [[Robert Ardrey]], Neighbourhood Theatre June 1940; [[Gielgud Theatre|Globe Theatre]] July 1940. (He would reprise this role in the 1942 [[Boulting Brothers]] [[Thunder Rock (film)|film version]].)

Redgrave joined the [[Royal Navy]] as an [[ordinary seaman]] in July 1941, ({{HMS|Illustrious|87|6}}) but was discharged on medical grounds in November 1942.<ref>Redgrave provided his friend the actor and writer [[Godfrey Winn]] (also in the Navy at the time), with a memorable signal his ship made. The aircraft carrier HMS ''Illustrious'' was in collision with another carrier, HMS ''Formidable'' in poor weather visibility in the Atlantic, after the collision ''Illustrious'' signalled: "If you touch me in that place again, I shall scream". {{cite book |title=Home from Sea |first=Godfrey |last=Winn |publisher=Hutchinson & Co |location=London |year=1944 |page=115}}</ref> Having spent most of 1942 in the Reserve he managed to direct ''Lifeline'' (Norman Armstrong) starring [[Frank Pettingell]] at the [[Duchess Theatre]] in July; and ''[[The Duke in Darkness]]'' ([[Patrick Hamilton (writer)|Patrick Hamilton]]) starring [[Leslie Banks]] at the [[St James's Theatre]] in October, also taking the role of Gribaud.<ref>''The Great Stage Stars'', Sheridan Morley, and ''Who's Who in the Theatre'' 1981</ref>

Resuming his stage career he played/directed:
* Rakitin in ''[[A Month in the Country (play)|A Month in the Country]]'' ([[Turgenev]]), St James's Theatre March 1943
* Lafont in six matinees of ''Parisienne'', a comedy by Henry Becque, translated by [[Ashley Dukes]], (Redgrave also directed and managed) co-starring [[Sonia Dresdel]], St James's Theatre June 1943
* ''Blow Your Own Trumpet'', a comedy by [[Peter Ustinov]], (directed), [[Playhouse Theatre]] August 1943
* ''The Wingless Victory'', a period romance by [[Maxwell Anderson]], (directed) starring [[Rachel Kempson]] as Faith Ingalls, [[Phoenix Theatre (London)|Phoenix Theatre]] September 1943
* Harry Quincey in ''Uncle Harry'', a thriller by Thomas Job, (also co-directed with William Armstrong) with [[Beatrix Lehmann]] as Leslie Quincey and Rachel Kempson as Lucy Forrest, [[Garrick Theatre]] March 1944
* Colonel Stjerbinsky in ''Jacobowsky and the Colonel'', a comedy by [[Franz Werfel]], adapted by [[S.N. Behrman]], (Redgrave also directed) with Rachel Kempson as Marianne, [[Piccadilly Theatre]], June 1945