In 1960, Adrian joined Peter Hall's newly formed Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford-upon-Avon, together with such actors as Peggy Ashcroft, Peter O'Toole and Diana Rigg. He played Jaques in "As You Like It", Feste in "Twelfth Night", Pandarus in "Troilus and Cressida", the Cardinal in John Webster's "The Duchess of Malfi", and Father Barré in "The Devils", as well as a range of smaller parts. He also starred with Dorothy Tutin, Richard Johnson and John Barton in "The Hollow Crown", an anthology of prose and verse about the monarchs of England, devised by Barton and frequently revived in later years.