The wars of Westeros are coming to the stage.
The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced the world premiere of “Game of Thrones: The Mad King,” a new play adapted by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke, with George R. R. Martin serving as executive producer and creator.
The production will debut at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in the summer.
“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. But in the shadows, amid growing unease at the blood-thirsty 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,” reads the synopsis. Characters from houses Targaryen, Stark, Lannister, Baratheon and Martell will feature.
“The play is a prequel, taking place over a decade before the events of ‘Game of Thrones.’ A long winter has started to thaw and, for the first time in years, all the great houses come together for a tournament – destined to be the greatest of the age. It feels like a new dawn, full of hope and opportunity. But tournaments always have a darker purpose,” Macmillan and Cooke said.
Martin added: “When I first wrote ‘Game of Thrones,’ I never imagined that it would be anything other than a book. It was a place for my imagination to exist without limits. To my great surprise, it was adapted for a series and viewers have been able to enter the world of my imagination through the medium of television. For my work to now be adapted for the stage is something I did not expect but welcome with great enthusiasm and excitement. Theater offers something unique. A place for mine and the audience’s imagination to meet and hopefully create something magical.
“For me, the RSC was the obvious choice when thinking about putting a ‘Game of Thrones’ story on the stage. Shakespeare is the greatest name in English literature, and his plays have been a constant source of inspiration to me and my writing. Not only that, he faced similar challenges in how to put a battle on stage, so we are in good company. It will be thrilling to watch the events of this new play unfold in a live environment. Duncan’s masterful script honors the world completely, and I am so excited for both fans of the series, and perhaps people who have never picked up one of my books, to experience this new story in a theater.”
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
RSC co-artistic directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey drew a direct parallel between the play and Shakespeare’s own history cycles, describing the adaptation as exploring “the true nature of authority through the lens of young people grappling with inherited identities.”
The production is co-produced with Simon Painter, Tim Lawson, Mark Manuel, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures on behalf of HBO, and Sir Leonard Blavatnik and Danny Cohen for Access Entertainment.
Macmillan’s previous credits include “Lungs,” “People, Places and Things” and an adaptation of “1984” co-written with Robert Icke. Cooke, recently appointed artistic director of London’s Almeida Theatre, previously served as artistic director of the Royal Court from 2007 to 2013 and directed the films “The Courier” and “On Chesil Beach.“
From Variety US