 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 . 
