King Lear, Wyndham's Theatre

Kenneth Branagh is one of Britain's most notorious actors and directors of Shakespeare. He's the man behind several famous movie adaptations of the Bard's best-known plays as well as countless stage productions. But it's been almost a decade since his last production, a critically acclaimed take on The Winter's Tale, graced the London stage. The screen has kept him busy in the interim, of course, with movie hits including his semi-personal, black-and-white flick Belfast. But we're happy to have him back this autumn, directing and starring as the lead role in King Lear.

Shakespeare's aged king, who comes a cropper when he endeavours to divvy up his land between his three daughters and sorely misjudges their intentions, is the pinnacle of roles for many actors, so it's no wonder that Branagh, now in his 60s, is putting his mark on the part.

Joining him in the production are a cast including Deborah Alli as bad egg Goneril (Best of Enemies, School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play), RADA graduate Melanie‑Joyce Bermudez as the equally rotten Regan and Jessica Revell (TV's Tracy Beaker Returns, The Dumping Ground) as both Cordelia and The Fool. Dear Evan Hansen's Doug Colling joins the cast as Edgar and Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story's Corey Mylchreest as Edmund.

Branagh is set to play the titular role for 50 performances only in the production, which runs from Saturday 21 October to Saturday 9 December at the West End's Wyndham's Theatre.