In 1965, British theatre director William Gaskill was named artistic director of the Royal Court Theatre, where he hoped to re-establish a repertoire. He approached Shaw, who had made his acting début at the Royal Court Theatre as a youth, and Shaw agreed to return. There he delivered several performances over the next year, including General Conrad von Hotzendorf in John Osborne's "A Patriot for Me"; various roles in Ann Jellicoe's "Shelley"; Sir Francis Harker in N.F. Simpson's "The Cresta Run" and Pte Atterclife in John Arden's "Serjeant Musgrave's Dance".