James McAvoy takes on the role of Shakespeare’s tyricanical Scottish ruler in a new production directed by Jamie Lloyd.

One of Shakespeare’s darkest and most powerful tragedies, Macbeth tells the story of a Scottish general whose ascension to power is fuelled by ambition and paranoia.

Best known for his on screen roles in films including The Last King Of Scotland, Atonement and X-Men, McAvoy, who was last seen in the West End in Lloyd’s production of Three Days Of Rain, has appeared on stage in Breathing Corpses at the Royal Court, Privates On Parade at the Donmar Warehouse and Out In The Open at the Hampstead theatre.

Lloyd, whose production of The Duchess Of Malfi played at the Old Vic in 2012, has previously directed productions including She Stoops To Conquer at the National Theatre, Inadmissable Evidence and The Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Donmar Warehouse, and The Faith Machine and The Pride at the Royal Court.

Macbeth is the first play in Trafalgar Transformed, a season of political plays that will be accompanied by a festival of platform events, discussions and readings.