Premiere plans

The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced the production dates and full creative team for Game of Thrones: The Mad King, a new stage play based on the novels of George R. R. Martin. The adaptation is by Duncan Macmillan and the production is directed by Dominic Cooke.

The world premiere is scheduled to run at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon from July 20 through Sept. 5. Because a sprawling fantasy epic apparently needed a suitably ambitious staging challenge, the production will also use a new configuration of the theatre that places the audience closer to the action.

The play is billed as a sweeping theatrical epic set during the final years before the events of Martin’s novels, focusing on a legendary chapter in the history of Westeros.

Creative team

Cooke and Macmillan will be joined by a sizeable creative team, which includes:

  • Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell of Lume, puppetry and movement directors
  • Chloe Lamford, set designer
  • Georgia McGuinness, costume designer
  • Jon Clark, lighting designer
  • Will Stuart, composer
  • Tom Gibbons, sound designer
  • Amy Ball CDG, casting

Additional credits include:

  • Jeannette Nelson, voice and text
  • Hazel Holder, dialect
  • Emily Raymond, associate director
  • Scarlet Wilderink, associate puppetry and movement
  • Francesca Roche, period dance consultant
  • Ti Mikkel, creative consultant
  • Machiko Weston, associate set designer
  • Alex Berry, associate costume designer
  • Alex Twiselton, associate sound designer
  • Lenore Gallegos, assistant director

Martin is attached as executive producer and creator.

What the RSC says

RSC co-artistic directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey said the project brings together “some of theatre’s most visionary talents” to rethink Martin’s world for the stage.

They added: “In a bold new configuration of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, audiences will find themselves at the very heart of the action — immersed in the intrigue and theatrical spectacle that promises to make this production truly epic. It’s an ambitious and exhilarating collaboration, and we can’t wait to welcome audiences into this extraordinary experience.”

Production partners

Game of Thrones: The Mad King 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.