Goolden was a British actor who first appeared at the theatre in 1938 when he played Quince in A Midsummer Night's Dream. That same season he also appeared in The Romanticks which was directed by Robert Atkins. In 1976 Goolden returned to the theatre to play Sir Nathaniel in Love's Labour's Lost, directed by David Conville. The following summer, in 1977, Goolden appeared in another Conville production as King Charles VI in Henry V. In total, Goolden appeared in six seasons at the Open Air Theatre.