Sir Ian McKellen will return to the stage in June, it has been confirmed.

He will first star in a production of Shakespeare's Hamlet, then in a production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, at the Theatre Royal Windsor around 20 miles west of London.

The two productions were first announced last June before being postponed due to Coronavirus. The production of Hamlet is being billed as "age-blind" because at 81 years of age, McKellen is around 50 years older than the title character is generally assumed to be. In The Cherry Orchard, he will appear as Firs the elderly manservant.

McKellen said in a statement received by Yahoo!: "I’ve acted in both these masterpieces before — and seen them scores of times. They are in that select group of classic plays which bear, even demand, a regular look, even reappraisal, by actors, directors, producers — and audiences. How can Hamlet be played by an 80-year-old? I hope theatre-starved audiences will want to find out!"

The productions will also star Steven Berkoff, Francesca Annis, and Jenny Seagrove, with socially distanced rehearsals due to begin next week. McKellen revealed in December that he had received his first vaccination against Covid-19.

"It is invasive of course, it looks like a weapon — a needle — but it isn't, it's a friend!" he said at the time. "I would encourage everybody to do the sensible thing, not just for themselves but for everybody else, because if you're virus-free that helps everybody else, doesn't it?"

Are you pleased Sir Ian McKellen can get back to work again?