Stage Prequel Game of Thrones: Game of Thrones: The Mad King to Debut
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, the world of Game of Thrones is expanding to the stage. Following the television prequels House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the Royal Shakespeare Company has announced that a third adaptation will premiere next summer.
The play Game of Thrones: The Mad King, based on the novels by George R. R. Martin, will focus on events referenced in the later sections of the books. Martin said: “I never expected the book to be adapted for the stage, but I welcome it with great excitement. When I first wrote Game of Thrones, I never imagined it as anything other than a novel.”
The production will feature characters from Houses Targaryen, Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, and Martell. It is set 15 years before the events of Game of Thrones, during the famed tournament at Harrenhal. Director Dominic Cooke has described Ned Stark, his sister Lyanna, Jaime Lannister, and Robert Baratheon as the “central characters.”
The “Mad King” referenced in the title is King Aerys II Targaryen—father of Daenerys, Rhaegar, and Viserys—who is mentioned in both the novels and HBO’s television adaptation.
Playwright Duncan Macmillan, known for his stage adaptation of The Seagull starring Cate Blanchett, is writing the script. Ticket sales will begin in April.
