This summer, the Royal Shakespeare Company brought Westeros to the stage with its new play The Mad King. The production tells the story of how and why Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark fell in love. It was a cataclysmic whirlwind relationship that led to Robert’s Rebellion and the end of the dragonlord dynasty. It also might have saved the world of the living, as Lyanna died giving birth to Rhaegar’s son, Jon Snow. The show has been a huge sell-out hit with audiences, and the final performances are happening in September in Stratford-upon-Avon. But don’t despair like Reek. It’s not the show’s final show. George R.R. Martin announced The Mad King is moving to London in 2027.
The A Song of Ice and Fire author took to social media (with an announcement we first saw at Deadline) to reveal The Mad King will return next year. Adapted by Duncan Macmillan from Martin’s work, the Royal Shakespeare Company is moving the original show to London in 2027. While no official information is available in regards to dates and the second run’s expected length, the RSC’s London home is the Barbican Theater.
While the stage might change, the story won’t. Here’s the official synopsis for this monumental moment in Westeros:
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. 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.
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?
You can sign up at The Mad King‘s official site to get updates from the RSC. Hopefully that will eventually include learning when the play will cross the not so-narrow-Atlantic Ocean. We’re excited for the people of London, but we’d like to see Westeros come to a stage closer to us soon.