With “House of the Dragon” having just wrapped up its explosive third season, fans of “Game of Thrones” are anxiously awaiting the next project that will take them back to Westeros.
With production currently underway on the second season of prequel spinoff “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” and the fourth and final season of “House of the Dragon” a year away, fans are also anticipating “Aegon’s Conquest.” The recently greenlit prequel movie will focus on Aegon the Conqueror and his two wives/sisters, Rhaenys and Visenya, who brought six of the Seven Kingdoms together to rule Westeros from the Iron Throne.
Beyond those, however, a brand-new “Game of Thrones” project has just launched — and, unlike all the other series, won’t be seen on television.
‘Game of Thrones: The Mad King’
“Game of Thrones: The Mad King” is a new prequel set in the years prior to George R.R. Martin’s first “Game of Thrones” book.
Not a TV series nor a movie, “The Mad King” is a stage play that just opened in Britain — specifically in Stratford-upon-Avon, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
“A long winter thaws in Harrenhal, and spring is promised,” reads the RSC’s synopsis of its new production. “At a lavish banquet on the eve of a jousting tournament, lovers meet and revellers speculate about who will contend. 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 synopsis concludes, “Family bonds, ancient prophecies, and the sacred line of succession will be tested in a dangerous campaign for power. Who will survive? Who will rise?”
Per the RSC, this “sweeping new stage epic” was written by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke, and will run through to September 5.
Setting the Stage for ‘Game of Thrones’
In the play, the audience will come face to face with familiar characters from the series, including Cersei Lannister, Eddard Stark and members of the various noble Houses of Westeros.
“Spanning the final years before the events of the novels, this powerful drama reveals a legendary chapter of Westerosi history,” notes the RSC’s description.
The story essentially sets the stage for the events that began in HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” and then played out over the course of eight seasons.
The play takes place on a cross-shaped stage, which means that no two seats will provide the same viewpoint.
Reviews Have Been Spectacular
While the notion of the world’s pre-eminent Shakespeare company staging a play based on a fantasy novel may irk purists, theater critics have been showering “The Mad King” with rave reviews.
The Guardian lauds the play as “an action-packed saga of dry ice and fire,” which boasts “one joust after another, spectacular stagecraft and plenty of modern resonance.”
Meanwhile, The Telegraph describes “The Mad King” as “a spellbinding spectacle that serves ‘GOT’ newbies and devotees,” while The Independent praises the new “Game of Thrones” proeuction as “a stellar stage show with a surprising amount of heart.”
As mentioned, “Game of Thrones: The Mad King” will run until September 5.
