Game of Thrones play The Mad King is coming to London — and it's almost four hours long
You won't want to be sat on an Iron Throne for this one...
After a sell-out season at Stratford-upon-Avon, Game of Thrones play The Mad King has been announced for a London run.
No less than George R. R. Martin himself released a statement on the play’s move to the capital.
“I’m thrilled to announce that the production will be moving on to London to share the experience with a wider audience. It promises to be an exhilarating journey,” George R. R. Martin wrote on his website.
The Stratford run at the RSC — the Stratford found nearer to Birmingham rather than the Jubilee line station — finished up on 5th September and for now details on the next run are next-to-non-existent.
We don’t know which London theatre it will open at, or when — other than it will be at some point in 2027. But it’s an exciting move that will no doubt shift tickets with no trouble.
A new look at Westeros
The Mad King is about Aerys II Targaryen, and is set around 15 years ahead of the main book and TV series. It’s based on events mentioned in the series, rather than a more straight adaptation of George R. R. Martin work — like series spin-off A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
It is adapted by Duncan Macmillan, best known for the play Lungs, which at one point starred Claire Foy, and his stage adaptation of 1984.
“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,” reads the synopsis.
“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.”
The play is a whopper, running to three hours and 40 minutes including an intermission. It’s such a technical feat the initially scheduled previews had to be cancelled in order to fine-tune operations last minute, but most reviewers agree it’s a near-unmissable spectacle as a result too.
Its official opening night was on 8th August, so the Mad King hasn’t even seen all that many performances yet, given 5th September was its last.
“This production is unique and brilliantly demonstrates the extraordinary things that theatre can do. The reaction from audiences in Stratford has been phenomenal, and we are so honoured that 57% of our bookers were new to the RSC,” say RSC artistic directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, in a joint statement.
If you fancy dipping back into Westeros this week, the main Game of Thrones series and spin-offs House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms are all available to stream on HBO Max and Sky’s NOW TV Entertainment in the UK.
Skip the search — follow Shortlist on Google News to get our best lists, news, features and reviews at the top of your feeds!
