CASTING has been announced for the forthcoming UK tour of War Horse which returns to Southampton next year.

The play, which closed in the West End in March 2016 after a record-breaking eight-year run, will set out on a major tour on September 15 and play Mayflower Theatre 16 May 2018 - 9 June 2018.

Thomas Dennis, who is currently performing in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, will play the central role of Albert Narracott. Jo Castleton will play Rose Narracott and folk musician Bob Fox returns to the role of Song Man, which he played in the West End.

The National Theatre's acclaimed production, which our reviewer hailed " a thoroughbred champion" and "one of the greatest productions ever staged", played to packed houses with standing room only on its first visit to Mayflower Theatre in February 2014.

The new tour coincides with the Centenary commemorations of the end of the First World War and follows the production's enormously successful tour of the UK and Ireland in 2013-2014.

War Horse, which has been seen by over seven million people worldwide, has won 25 awards including the Tony Award for Best Play on Broadway.

Directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, Nick Stafford's adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's remarkable story of courage, loyalty and friendship, about a young boy called Albert and his horse Joey, set against the backdrop of the First World War is the most successful play in the National Theatre's history. It features ground-breaking puppetry work by South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company, which brings breathing, galloping horses to live on stage.