Game Of Thrones: The Mad King is coming to London in 2027

The RCS’s blockbuster stage prequel moves from a sold-out Stratford run to London, with further details still to come

George R. R. Martin’s Game Of Thrones: The Mad King will open in London in 2027, following a sold-out world-premiere run at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. Adapted by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke, the new play digs into the final years before A Game Of Thrones – when King Aerys II still sat on the Iron Throne and the alliances that would reshape the Seven Kingdoms were beginning to buckle.

Exact London dates, venue and casting remain under wraps. The Stratford production closes on 5 September after a run that brought plenty of newcomers through the RSC’s doors: the company says 57% of bookers were new to the RSC. George R. R. Martin called his visit for the premiere “absolutely splendid” and said he was thrilled that a wider audience would get to see the production.

The action begins around a banquet and jousting tournament at Harrenhal, with unrest gathering around Aerys II’s rule. Familiar names from Houses Targaryen, Stark, Lannister, Baratheon and Martell all enter the story, putting younger versions of Rhaegar Targaryen, Lyanna and Eddard Stark, Robert Baratheon, Jaime and Cersei Lannister among the characters on stage.

Stratford’s cast featured Michael Shaeffer as Aerys II, Noah Ritter as Rhaegar, Harmony Rose-Bremner as Lyanna Stark and Callum Woodhouse as Robert Baratheon. The production also turned the Royal Shakespeare Theatre into a cross-shaped playing space, with audience viewpoints changing around the action. Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell handled puppetry and movement, part of a creative team that also included designer Chloe Lamford, composer Will Stuart and fight director Bethan Clark. The Stratford version clocked in at three hours and 40 minutes, including an interval.

The London move gives Game Of Thrones: The Mad King a major new chapter barely a month after Martin attended its 8 August premiere. For anyone who knows how Robert’s Rebellion ends, the fun now lies in watching the pieces move into place – live, up close and with the Iron Throne still very much occupied.