STAR of stage and screen Sir Ian McKellen is returning to Sussex for his latest play.

The 78-year-old, best known for playing Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, will appear in King Lear at Chichester Festival Theatre, starting today.

The Burnley-born star posted this photograph on his Twitter page yesterday with the caption: “On a fine summer day in 1965 I posed outside @ChichesterFT where, 52 years later, I will be on stage as King Lear beginning Friday.”

The play be run until October 28 in the Minerva Theatre.

Sir Ian will play King Lear having last appeared at Chichester in 2011.

Tickets start at £20. For more details and to book visit: cft.org.uk.