After a long run in "Cabaret", she rejoined the RSC making numerous appearances with the company in Stratford and London for nearly twenty years, winning several "best actress" awards. Among her roles with the RSC, she was the Duchess in John Webster's "The Duchess of Malfi" in 1971. In the Stratford 1976 season, and then at the Aldwych in 1977, she gave two comedy performances, first in Trevor Nunn's musical staging of "The Comedy of Errors" as Adriana, then partnered with Donald Sinden as Beatrice and Benedick in John Barton's "British Raj" revival of "Much Ado About Nothing". As Bernard Levin wrote in "The Sunday Times": "... demonstrating once more that she is a comic actress of consummate skill, perhaps the very best we have." One of her most notable achievements with the RSC was her performance as Lady Macbeth in 1976. Nunn's acclaimed production of "Macbeth" was first staged with a minimalist design at The Other Place theatre in Stratford. Its small round stage focused attention on the psychological dynamics of the characters, and both Ian McKellen in the title role, and Dench, received exceptionally favourable notices. "If this is not great acting I don't know what is", wrote Michael Billington in "The Guardian". "It will astonish me if the performance is matched by any in this actress's generation", commented J C Trewin in "The Lady". The production transferred to London, opening at the Donmar Warehouse in September 1977, and was adapted for television, later released on VHS and DVD. Dench won the SWET Best Actress Award in 1977.