The first black King of England will be crowned in Warwickshire in November.

David Oyelowo, whose family comes from Nigeria, will take the lead role in Richard Vl. It comes to the RSC stage from the Autumn in the Swan Theatre and will transfer to London next year.

The 24-year-old who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic art (LAMDA) has appeared in the Swan before as Bonaire in Vulpine, as well as Abeam in Oronoco, and Men crates and Decrease in Antony and Cleopatra on the main stage. He said:

“Hopefully it will pave the way for other actors. The more barriers come down the better.”

He was up against white actors for the role, and the RSC said he got the job on merit. This is not a ‘black’ performance of the play

Her said black people were rarely offered lead roles in plays and TV work is often a diet of playing drug dealers.

He should soon be on the screen with a Filmfour comedy, not yet released, called Dog Eat Dog.

On the TV screen, his credits include: Brothers and Sisters, Off Limits, Maisie Raine and King of Hearts. Other theatre credits include: Suppliants, Mirad, Little Shop of Horrors, and Los Escombros.

The decision to cast a black man as a white English monarch, who will have white offspring in the performances, comes after a black Othello appears on a Stratford stage for the first time in 40 years.

Ray Fearon, taking on the role of the Moor, is the first black Othello at Stratford since Paul Robson played the role in 1959.