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Game of Thrones will be coming to The Royal Shakespeare Company this summer in a new production based on the acclaimed novels by George R. R. Martin. Tickets will go on sale in April. More information is available here.
Titled Game of Thrones: The Mad King, the play takes place a decade before the events of the original series. Duncan MacMillan has penned the script, with Dominic Cooke set as the director.
“A long winter thaws in Harrenhal, and spring is promised. At a lavish banquet on the eve of a jousting tournament, lovers meet and revellers speculate about who will contend,” the official description reads.
“But in the shadows, amid growing unease at the bloodthirsty actions of the realm’s merciless Mad King, dissenters from his inner circle anxiously advance a treasonous plot. Far away, the drums of battle sound. Family bonds, ancient prophecies, and the sacred line of succession will be tested in a dangerous campaign for power. Who will survive? Who will rise?”
The show, which unveils a legendary chapter of Westerosi history, will reportedly feature familiar characters from the houses Targaryen, Stark, Lannister, Baratheon and Martell.
“When I first wrote Game of Thrones, I never imagined that it would be anything other than a book,” said executive producer and creator George R.R. Martin. “For my work to now be adapted for the stage is something I did not expect but welcome with great enthusiasm and excitement.”
“George [R. R. Martin]’s storytelling is Shakespearean in its scale and its themes – dynastic struggle, ambition, rebellion, madness, prophecy, ill-fated love, said Macmillan and Cooke. “From the beginning, Shakespeare’s histories and tragedies have been our primary reference for the ambition of this production, so the RSC feels like a natural home.”
Game of Thrones: The Mad King is co-produced with Simon Painter, Tim Lawson, Mark Manuel, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures obo HBO and Sir Leonard Blavatnik and Danny Cohen for Access Entertainment.
Duncan MacMillan’s previous writing credits include the original plays Lungs, People, Places and Things and Every Brilliant Thing, and adaptations of 1984 (with Robert Icke), Rosmersholm, An Enemy of the People and The Seagull.
Dominic Cooke is Artistic Director-Designate of the Almeida Theatre in London and was previously Artistic Director of the Royal Court, Associate Director of the RSC and Associate of The National Theatre. Directing includes Follies, Hello Dolly! and Good for the stage, and The Hollow Crown on TV.
The Game of Thrones HBO television series earned a total of 161 Emmy nominations and 59 wins to date over its eight seasons. The megahit drama also stands as HBO’s most-viewed program ever, with the final season averaging a record-setting 44 million viewers in the U.S.
Duncan MacMillan Photo Credit: Piers Allardyce
