See Merlin star Alexander Vlahos perform on stage later this year when he joins seasoned British actor Kenneth Branagh in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Kenneth Branagh and Rob Ashford have joined forces to direct one of William Shakespeare’s most well-known plays, Macbeth, which will be performed at the Manchester International Festival 2013 from July 5 – 20.

Aside from co-directing, Branagh will also play the title role in the production, which has been set inside a de-consecrated church in Manchester. Each performance will be for less than 300 people, providing a truly intimate, personal experience for the audience.

Now, actor Alexander Vlahos (best known for his role as Mordred in Merlin) has revealed via Twitter that he’ll be playing the role of Malcolm, King Duncan’s eldest son:

It was also recently announced that Doctor Who‘s Alex Kingston will star opposite Branagh as Lady Macbeth, the female lead in the play.

In essence, Macbeth explores what happens after the war hero Macbeth is seduced by the lure of power and greed, and kills the King of Scotland to take the throne for himself. He is manipulated by his wife, corrupted by evil, and slowly descends into madness in a truly tragic, harrowing sequence of events.

As the oldest son of King Duncan, Malcolm is the natural heir to the throne. Following the death of his father, he spends much of the play in hiding, but returns towards the end to resolve the story.

While tickets for this production are currently sold out, preview tickets are available. And we urge anyone with an interest in theatre to keep their eyes open, because Macbeth is a remarkable play. Branagh is known for his powerful Shakespearean performances, and they are gathering together a powerful cast to take on one of Shakespeare’s greatest works.

Alexander Vlahos can currently be seen on television in the final season of Merlin (airing on the SyFy Channel in the U.S.), and recently starred in the BBC miniseries Privates.

Vlahos also recently returned to the world of Dorian Gray, to do more voice acting for the popular audio series.

After the success of Confessions of Dorian Gray, The Big Finish Production group will not only be making a second series, but will also be tackling Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.

The Picture of Dorian Gray can be pre-ordered here.

While there might not be more Merlin coming, the actors are moving on to great new projects, and we’ll continue to keep you updated on all of them here on Hypable!