In 2024 George R.R. Martin teased an upcoming stage play in London about one of the most momentous events in the history of Westeros. It promised to let A Song of Ice and Fire fans finally see what really the happened at the infamous Tourney of Harrenhal. That’s where Rhaegar Targaryen met Lyanna Stark, a romance that forever changed the Realm. That play was expected to premiere some time in 2025. It obviously didn’t. But don’t worry, this is not another The Winds of Winter situation. It’s really happening. And soon. Martin and the Royal Shakespeare Company have announced tickets for Game of Thrones: The Mad King will go on sale in April ahead of its summer debut.
Game of Thrones: The Mad King, a prequel set more than ten years before the events of HBO’s show/Martin’s first novel in the series, will arrive the Royal Shakespeare Theatre later this year. Priority booking tickets will go on sale on April 14 at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s website. Later that month the theater will announce when the public will get to purchase theirs.
The show, from playwright Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke, will tell a story that has always been at the heart of A Song of Ice and Fire. It’s when Jon Snow’s parents met. That set off a war that changed the Realm forever. It also might have saved the world from the dead.
But as the title of the play suggest, that romance is only one part of this tale. It’s named after King Aerys II, the man who helped to nearly destroy his entire house. The Mad King, long a recluse, was in attendance because he suspected the tourney was really cover for something else. In a statement, Macmillan and Cooke teased the conspiracy that made the Tourney at Harrenhal dangerous even before an unlikely love bloomed. From the show’s official announcement:
A long winter has started to thaw and, for the first time in years, all the great houses come together for a tournament – destined to be the greatest of the age. It feels like a new dawn, full of hope and opportunity. But tournaments always have a darker purpose.
In his own statement, Martin said, “Duncan’s masterful script honours the world completely, and I am so excited for both fans of the series, and perhaps people who have never picked up one of my books, to experience this new story in a theatre.”
Not sure what to expect from this play? We have you covered. Read our pieces about The Mad King, Rhaeghar Targaryen, and his relationship with Lyanna Stark. Soon we’ll all find out together what has always been myth and what really happened. This play might have been delayed, but unlike some other projects in Westeros it really is happening.