Merlin star Colin Morgan cast in The Tempest at Shakespeare's Globe

Merlin actor Colin Morgan says series 5 'has run its natural course'

Merlin star Colin Morgan has lined up another magical role - on stage at Shakespeare's Globe.

The actor, who recently picked up a National Television Award for his role as the legendary wizard, will play the mischievous spirit Ariel in a new production of The Tempest.

He will be joined in the production at the theatre, on London's Southbank, by The Thick of It star Roger Allam who will play Prospero.

The venue has also announced plans to put on three of Shakespeare's history plays about King Henry VI at the sites of some of the battles of the War of the Roses including Towton, Tewkesbury and St Albans.

Its new season will also include performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth, as well as a new play, Blue Stockings, by Jessica Swale which tells the story of the first female students at Cambridge University.

There will also be a version of ancient Greek dramatist Euripides' play The Bacchae, renamed The Lightning Child, and featuring songs by Doctor Who actor Arthur Darvill.

Theatre companies from as far afield as South Africa, Georgia and Belarus will also perform productions of Shakespeare works as part of the season.

PA