The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced the world premiere of Game of Thrones: The Mad King, a stage play adapted from George R R Martin’s novels. The production marks the first time a Game of Thrones story is brought to the theatre, opening at Stratford-upon-Avon in summer 2026.

Game of Thrones: The Mad King is set more than a decade before the events of the television series and the A Song of Ice and Fire novels. The story begins at the ruins of Harrenhal during a pivotal tournament that fuels political tension, rivalry and the looming threat of war.

Martin said that while he originally imagined Game of Thrones solely as a book, he welcomes the stage adaptation with enthusiasm. He described theatre as “a place for mine and the audience’s imagination to meet and hopefully create something magical.”

The play has been adapted by Duncan Macmillan and will be directed by Dominic Cooke. It is scheduled to open at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, with priority booking from 14 April 2026 and public booking details to follow later that month.

Macmillan and Cooke explained the production as a prequel set during a moment of renewed hope in Westeros, when a thawing winter brings the great houses together for what seems to be a new dawn. Yet beneath the surface, the tournament harbours darker intentions.

The creative team cited Shakespearean influences, noting that Martin’s storytelling shares themes of dynastic struggle, ambition, rebellion and prophecy similar to Shakespeare’s histories and tragedies. This is part of why the RSC’s involvement feels “like a natural home” for the project.

RSC co-artistic directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey highlighted the play’s focus on themes of power, succession and identity, describing it as an “exciting and apposite marriage” between Shakespeare’s history cycles and the Game of Thrones universe. They emphasised the production has both epic scale and a human heart.

The show is co-produced alongside Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures for HBO, as well as producers Simon Painter, Tim Lawson, Mark Manuel, and Access Entertainment’s Sir Leonard Blavatnik and Danny Cohen. Full season details will be announced on 26 February 2026.