Editing Alec McCowen (section)

===Early theatre work===
McCowen first appeared on stage at the [[Macclesfield]] [[repertory theatre]] in August 1942 as Micky in ''Paddy the Next Best Thing''. He appeared in repertory in [[York]] and [[Birmingham]] 1943–45, and toured India and [[Burma]] in a production of [[Kenneth Horne (writer)|Kenneth Horne]]'s West End comedy ''[[Love in a Mist (play)|Love in a Mist]]'' during 1945 with the Entertainments National Service Association ([[ENSA]]). He continued in repertory 1946–49, during which time he played a season at [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St John's]], [[Newfoundland]], Canada.

McCowen made his London debut on 20 April 1950, at the [[Arts Theatre]] as Maxim in [[Anton Chekhov]]'s ''[[Ivanov (play)|Ivanov]]'', and made his first appearances on the New York City stage at the [[Ziegfeld Theatre (1927)|Ziegfeld Theatre]] on 19 December 1951, as an Egyptian Guard in ''[[Caesar and Cleopatra (play)|Caesar and Cleopatra]]'', and on 20 December 1951, as the Messenger in ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]''. Following a series of roles at the Arts and with the Repertory Players, he had rising success as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in ''Moulin Rouge'' at the then New Theatre, [[Bromley]], and appeared as Barnaby Tucker in ''[[The Matchmaker]]'' at the [[Theatre Royal Haymarket]], both 1954.

After appearances as Dr Bird in ''[[The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (play)|The Caine Mutiny Court Martial]]'' at the [[London Hippodrome]] in 1956, and Michael Claverton-Ferry in [[T. S. Eliot]]'s ''[[The Elder Statesman (play)|The Elder Statesman]]'', first at the [[Edinburgh Festival]] in 1958, then at the [[Cambridge Theatre]], he joined the [[Old Vic]] Company for its 1959–60 season, among several parts taking the title role in ''[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]'', then stayed on for the 1960–61 season to play Mercutio in ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', Oberon in ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' and Malvolio in ''[[Twelfth Night]]''.

McCowen joined the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] in September 1962, appearing at [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] playing Antipholus of Syracuse in ''[[The Comedy of Errors]]'' and the Fool to [[Paul Scofield]]'s ''[[King Lear]]'', subsequently appearing in both plays at the [[Aldwych Theatre]] in December 1962 – performing these roles again for a [[British Council]] tour of the [[Soviet Union]], Europe and the United States from February to June 1964. With the RSC he also played "the gruelling role"<ref>''Double Bill'' by Alec McCowen, Elm Tree Books (1980), {{ISBN|0-241-10395-9}}, page 7.</ref> of Father Riccardo Fontana in [[Rolf Hochhuth]]'s controversial play ''[[The Deputy|The Representative]]'' at the Aldwych in December 1963.