David Tennant will again be involved in a nationwide celebration of one of our countries icons when he returns to the RSC in the title role of Gregory Doran’s production of Shakespeare’s Richard II!

Announcing its 2013 Winter Productions for his first full season in the position of Artistic Director Doran spoke to BBC Coventry and Warwickshire about his delight in finding the ideal role for David since his award-winning portrayal of Hamlet five years ago.

The Winter Productions are the first to be announced in a busy five year period for Shakespeare fans.

Firstly, in 2014 the Company will celebrate Shakespeare’s 450^th birthday followed in 2016 by the quatercentenary of his death.

Doran’s ambitious plan is to treat both as one giant celebration of Shakespeare’s complete life; from birth to grave, over an arc of three years culminating in a major nationwide event in 2016.

This includes mounting productions of Shakespeare’s entire canon including plays such as The Two Gentlemen of Verona which has not been performed by the RSC on the main stage in 45 years.

With the main stage occupied The Swan, the more intimate secondary stage, will be occupied by the plays that inspired Shakespeare and the works of his contemporary’s such as Christopher Marlowe and Ben Johnson.

For Doran, it’s an intimidating but exciting time to be involved with the RSC:

(Via David Tennant on Twitter)