Like so many actors of his generation, Cushing got his professional start in the theater. Although his stage work tapered off sharply after his success in films and television, some of his most personally satisfying work was still in the live theatre, even into the 1970s.

Most of the following predate Cushing's first appearances in television, where the demands of live performance were well served by his years of solid training on the stage. It's a pity we can't evaluate these performances anymore, but, then again, that's what makes live theater so unique.

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(various – titles unknown) (ca. 1936)
Cushing's first work in the theater was not as an actor, but as the assistant manager of the Worthing Repertory Company (also listed as the Worthington Repertory Company).

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Cornelius (June 1936)
At the Connaught Theatre, Sussex. Cushing's first professional appearance as an actor.

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The Middle Watch (ca. 1936)
"His first important role" (Robert W. Pohle, Jr. & Douglas C. Hart, Sherlock Holmes on the Screen). With the same rep company as above.

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Lean Harvest (ca. 1937)
At the Grand Theatre, Southampton. He stayed with this company for nine months.

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Dick Whittington (ca. Christmas 1937)
Christmas pantomime (in the English sense of the term – as in children's play, not as in performing silently).

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(various – titles unknown) (ca. early 1938)
"...He eventually worked his way up to juvenile leads" with the Grand Theatre company (Pohle & Hart).

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(various – titles unknown) (ca. Spring 1938)
Member of the William Borrkfield Players, Theatre Royal, Rochdale.
"...The work load was enormous – playing and producing a different play every week...twice nightly....In a season of about forty-five weeks...the young people in the company would have played no less than forty-five different parts. It's an astonishing realization when you consider that today, in many instances, all sorts of famous actors don't play that many parts in their whole lives!....It amounted to sometimes sixteen, eighteen, or twenty hours of work a day." – Barry Morse with Sydney Sturgess Morse, fellow company member

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(various – titles unknown) (ca. late 1938)
member of Harry Hanson's Court Players, Nottingham.

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Tonight at 8:30 (1939)
Hollywood (during shooting of his first two Hollywood movies, see filmography).

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Love from a Stranger (ca. July 1939)
Cushing had the lead in this southern California production during a six-week interim in the shooting of the movie Vigil in the Night (see filmography).

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The Petrified Forest (ca. Summer 1941)
Starring Cushing (in the role Leslie Howard plays in the movie). Summer stock in Warrensburg, New York.

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(various – titles unknown) (ca. Summer 1941)
five more unnamed plays. Summer stock in Warrensburg, New York.

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The Seventh Trumpet (November 21-29, 1941) by Charles Rann Kennedy
11 performances On Broadway. Cushing is billed fourth.

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(various – titles unknown) (early 1942)
Back in England, Cushing joins E.N.S.A., the Entertainment National Service Association, basically the British U.S.O., as his part in the war effort (he was not physically fit for active duty). The company entertained troops throughout Britain's military bases.

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Present Indicative (ca. 1942)

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Theatrical Cavalcade (ca. 1942)

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War and Peace (August 1943)
A short run in Blackpool, Manchester and London.

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Dark Potential (1944)

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The Crime of Margaret Foley (1944)

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We Happy Few (1944)

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The Rivals (beginning September 1945)
A five-month run.

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The Curious Dr. Robson (1946)
One-week run, Cushing in the title role, at the "Q" Theatre.

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While the Sun Shines (1947)
It was Cushing's performance in this production which led directly to his being cast in Laurence Olivier's production of Hamlet, Cushing's first film role in England (see filmography).

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Richard III (1948-1949)
Touring Australia and New Zealand (1948), and London (1949).

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School for Scandal (1948-1949)
Touring Australia and New Zealand (1948), and London (1949).

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Proposal (1949)
In London, with Laurence Olivier's company. It would appear that Cushing had a leading role here, judging by this description:
"...One of his most outstanding personal success....Peter was so overcome after his fourth curtain call...that Olivier had to push him back on stage where he received another four calls!" – Robert W. Pohle, Jr. and Douglas C. Hart

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The Marriage Bureau (ca. 1950)
A three-week run.

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The Gay Invalid (1951)
A short run.

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Caesar and Cleopatra (1951)

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Anthony and Cleopatra (1951)

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The Wedding Ring (1952)

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The Soldier and the Lady (1954)

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The Silver Whistle (1956)

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The Sound of Murder (starting ca. August 1959) by William Fairchild
Three month run in London. Starring Cushing, obviously as a heavy:
"...He has the power to turn each of his features into a malign asset. The narrowing of his eyes radiating an intense glow. The slightest flaring of his nostrils. A smile so coldly sinister as to belie its perfection. And once again that voice: subtle, deft, but registering new inflections of malice. He succeeded in engaging everyone's disdain." – Rukmani Singh Devi, in a report to the American Peter Cushing [fan] club

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Thark (1965)

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John Player (January 1973)
A lecture at the National Film Theatre, London

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The Heiress (1975)
Touring England. Cushing's last appearance in a theatrical production.
"...I do not really have a favorite role, but one which I will always think of is my part in The Heiress....I think I got as near to giving a performance which pleased me as I have ever done." – Peter Cushing

Peter Cushing – The Gentle Man of Horror and His 91 Films (1992) by Deborah Del Vecchio and Tom Johnson

Sherlock Holmes on the Screen (1977) by Robert W. Pohle Jr. and Douglas C. Hart

Hammer's House of Horror [Magazine], No. 19 (April 1978)

Original text copyright 1998 by Michael Hoaglin.

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