Editing Michael Hordern (section)

====London debut====
Hordern's London debut came in January 1937, as an [[understudy]] to [[Bernard Lee]] in the play ''Night Sky'' at the [[Savoy Theatre]].<ref name="TELEOBIT" /> On nights when he was not required, Hordern would be called upon to undertake the duties of [[Stage management|assistant stage manager]], for which he was paid £2.10s a week. In March, Daltry, who had since formed his own company, Westminster Productions, cast Hordern as Ludovico in ''[[Othello]]''.<ref>Herbert, p. 745.</ref>
The part became Hordern's first paid role as an actor for a theatre company. The play was an instant hit and ran at the People's Theatre in [[Mile End]] for two weeks.<ref>Hordern, pp. 47–48.</ref> It also starred the English actor [[Stephen Murray (actor)|Stephen Murray]] in the title role, but he became contractually obliged elsewhere towards the end of the run. This allowed Hordern to take his place for which Daltry paid Hordern an extra £1 a week.<ref name="HORDERN48">Hordern, p. 48.</ref>{{refn| £1 a week equates to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|1|1937}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}} (adjusted for inflation).{{inflation-fn|UK}}|group= n}}

After ''Othello'''s closure, Daltry undertook a tour of Scandinavia and the Baltic with two plays,<ref name="TELEOBIT" /> ''[[Outward Bound (play)|Outward Bound]]'', and ''[[Arms and the Man]]''. He employed Hordern in both with the first being the more successful. It was a time that the actor recognised as being a turning point in his professional acting career. On his return to London, and after spending a few weeks in unemployment, he was offered a part in the ill-fated [[Thank You, Mr. Pepys!|''Ninety Sail'']]. The play, about [[Samuel Pepys]] and the [[Royal Navy]], was cancelled on the day Hordern was due to start work, with "unforeseen problems" cited as the reason by its producers.<ref name="HORDERN48" />