A National Theatre production of Shakespeare's Macbeth which has courted controversy is set to come to Kent as part of a UK tour.

The production, which will be at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury in February 2019 with a new cast, has been directed by National Theatre artistic director Rufus Norris, who was in Canterbury to announce the tour date.

He said: "It is very exciting to make this anew and take it all over the country."

It will be set in a post-apocalyptic time, after civil war has ravaged the country. He said of the setting: "If you take Canterbury and imagine those circumstances - the banks stopped giving out money, the bins stopped being collected and the rubbish piled up, Canterbury would quickly become a very different place. In a year it would be unrecognisable and in five years' time who knows what it would be like."

The cast is still being finalised for the tour, but he confirmed a Scottish actor would be taking the role of Macbeth, adding: "We are the National Theatre, so we try to reflect the whole country. It will be a diverse cast."

The production has been criticised for cutting parts of the text. But Rufus, who chose to direct the play 25 years after his last Shakespeare production, said it was not unusual. "It is just trimming it down. I'm not drawn to controversy for the sake of it. But it isn't new - in Shakespeare's day people used to throw fruit at the stage."

He added: "On a personal level there are many things about the play which chime with me. The Scottish links, the interest in medieval history and being in a marriage under pressure from his role."

Speaking in Canterbury, he said of the city's famous playwright Christopher Marlowe: "He was a pretty fiesty guy. His work isn't as accessible as Shakespeare, but he was part of a whole community of writers - Shakespeare wasn't writing in a bubble."

The production has starred Rory Kinnear (Othello, Skyfall) and Anne-Marie Duff (Sufragette, Shameless) in the lead roles while at the National Theatre. The touring production will be at the Marlowe Theatre from Tuesday, February 12 and Saturday, February 16. To book tickets go to marlowetheatre.com or call 01227 787787.