Westeros is busy again. Seven years after Game of Thrones wrapped, HBO has two spinoffs pulling big numbers, and the franchise is now wandering into some unexpected territory — including a full-on stage production in the UK that is not shy about going big.
For context: House of the Dragon arrived in 2022, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiered this year, an animated series from Genndy Tartakovsky is in the works about Lord Corlys Velaryon (aka the Sea Snake), and there is a feature film about Aegon the Conqueror in development. And now, the stage lights are coming up on the Targaryens' worst day.
The Mad King heads to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The play is called Game of Thrones: The Mad King, and it will debut at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. Performances start July 20 and run through September 5.
The story zeroes in on the final stretch of Aerys II Targaryen — the Mad King whose paranoia and cruelty lit the fuse on Robert’s Rebellion and ended the Targaryen dynasty. The production also plans to give the Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark romance more oxygen, including the secret birth of Jon Snow that quietly reshaped the whole saga.
"A sweeping stage epic that brings to life a legendary chapter of the history of Westeros."
They are literally reshaping the theater
The RSC is reconfiguring its iconic space for this show — expect the Royal Shakespeare Theatre to be set up "in a new configuration, placing audiences at the heart of the action. " For a venue known for tradition, that is a bold swing, and it fits a production that is promising armies, politics, and tragedy without a camera in sight.
Who is making it
Dominic Cooke and Duncan Macmillan are leading the project, with Cooke having spent several years developing the play alongside George R.R. Martin. Martin calls this a full-circle passion project — he got his start working at the RSC — and he is on board as an executive producer.
- Puppetry and movement: Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell (Lume)
- Set design: Chloe Lamford
- Costume design: Georgia McGuinness
- Lighting design: Jon Clark
- Composer: Will Stuart
- Sound design: Tom Gibbons
- Casting: Amy Ball (CDG)
- Voice and text: Jeannette Nelson
- Dialects: Hazel Holder
- Associate director: Emily Raymond
- Associate puppetry and movement: Scarlet Wilderink
- Period dance consultant: Francesca Roche
- Creative consultant: Ti Mikkel
- Associate set designer: Machiko Weston
- Associate costume designer: Alex Berry
- Associate sound designer: Alex Twiselton
- Assistant director: Lenore Gallegos
The bigger Westeros picture
Between House of the Dragon, this year’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Tartakovsky’s Sea Snake animated series, and that Aegon the Conqueror movie brewing, Game of Thrones is officially a multi-lane franchise again — now including a prestige stage epic. If you want to revisit the source material before curtain, Game of Thrones and its spinoffs are streaming on Max.