In 1966, Shaw joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he spent the next decade of his career and eventually became an associate artist. He mostly appeared in Shakespeare plays, including the title role in "Cymbeline", Edmund of Langley in "Richard II", the King in "All's Well That Ends Well", Ulysses in "Troilus and Cressida", and Leonato in "Much Ado About Nothing". "The Times" described his performance in the title role of "Cymbeline" as "awe-inspiring", and "The Independent" described his performance as Polonius in "Hamlet" as "unrivalled in his complacency and sense of circumstance". The "Telegraph" described his performance of Gloucester in "King Lear" as "doleful" and his performance of Duncan in "Macbeth" as "decent". Many of the company's Shakespearean productions at the time were considered interpretive and modern, which drew criticism from some traditionalists, but Shaw defended the experimental nature of the shows and rejected the notion that plays should be restricted to preconceived interpretations.