Adrian the First steps into battle as Henry V in theatrical landmark

The National Theatre is to cast Adrian Lester as Henry V in a move that marks a breakthrough for black actors on the British stage.

He will follow in the footsteps of Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh in playing the warrior king, who delivers some of the most famous Shakespearean speeches in the play's portrayal of Henry's victory at Agincourt.

A performance of Henry V, starring Lester, will be the first production under the artistic leadership of Nicholas Hytner, who succeeds Trevor Nunn as National Theatre director next April. It will open in May.

Hytner is understood to want to show from the start that he is going to bring a more radical approach to casting and choice of productions. He will not be announcing his choice of plays or casting decisions officially until later in the year. But National Theatre sources confirmed that Lester will star as Henry in the production, which Hytner will direct himself.

The casting of Lester marks a giant step forward for black actors in British theatre. Although the Royal Shakespeare Company broke new ground in casting a black actor, David Oyelowo, to play Henry VI last year, Henry VI is a much less imposing role than Henry V, arguably a lesser known figure in British history, and crucially does not have such a well-known performance history.

Both Olivier and Branagh directed film versions of Henry V and played the title role themselves. Olivier's film was used as propaganda to rally citizens during the Second World War.

The integration of black actors into mainstream theatre has been a gradual one, a fact that has caused protests from Equity in the past. The Royal Shakespeare Company has made moves to rectify this in recent years, casting black actors in a number of leading roles, including Ray Fearon as Romeo and as Pericles, and Josette Simon as Titania.

But directors have always considered casting black actors as major historical figures a potential problem as the faces of the kings and queens are so well known and, of course, it is a fact that they were white.

But Lester's casting by the National Theatre makes a statement that both national subsidised companies have now moved into the age of colour-blind casting, and that the strength of the performance is more important than the factual accuracy of the colour of the character's skin.

Lester won rave reviews as Hamlet in a production at the Young Vic, directed by Peter Brook last year. He also appeared alongside John Travolta and Emma Thompson in the film Primary Colors, and co-starred with Branagh in the 2000 film production of Love's Labour's Lost.

The West End producer Thelma Holt, who has worked with both the National and the RSC, said yesterday: "This is a major breakthrough. Adrian has energy and he is charismatic.

"It is perfect casting. I am glad that the colour of his skin is not an issue. Let's hope that Nick Hytner continues with colour-blind casting and takes it to the extremes. Maybe one day we will have a white Othello again."

Both the National Theatre and the RSC are opposed to casting a white actor as Othello.

Milestones in black casting

Paul Robeson was one of the first leading black actors to make a mark on British theatre when he played Othello at the Savoy Theatre in London in 1930. Peggy Ashcroft was his Desdemona. Robeson reprised the role in 1959 at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

There followed many decades of black actors trying to establish themselves, even, indeed, to be allowed to follow in Robeson's footsteps and play Othello. But until recently an invisible line has been drawn at the idea of a black actor playing a character known to be white.

Nowadays British theatre is more colour blind, thanks to protests by Equity and a new determination by subsidised companies to give opportunities to black performers. In 1990 the National Theatre cast Josette Simon, below left, as the female lead in Arthur Miller's After the Fall at the National Theatre. The role was widely believed to be based on Miller's former wife Marilyn Monroe but casting a black actress rescued the play from that one-dimensional interpretation.

David Oyelowo made history last year as the first black actor at the Royal Shakespeare Company to play Henry VI. Though the title role, it is not always thought of as a major part; but nevertheless a slice of theatre history was made. Ray Fearon, above, a rising star at the RSC, is currently playing Pericles at the Roundhouse in London for the company. He has also played Romeo for the RSC.