George R.R. Martin Confirms 'Game of Thrones' Play 'The Mad King' to Transfer to London

The production, which takes place decades before the events of the Game of Thrones TV series, has this week finished its run at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford-upon-Avon. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise, is credited as the creator of The Mad King, while Duncan Macmillan wrote the script. Five-time Olivier Award winner Dominic Cooke served as director.

On his blog last night, Martin confirmed plans to transfer The Mad King to the London stage, although details about dates and the venue are still forthcoming. "I had a splendid time in Stratford upon Avon for the premier of Duncan Macmillan and Dominic Cooke's epic new stage production of Game of Thrones: The Mad King, wrote Martin on his personal website, Not a Blog. "And furthermore I'm thrilled to announce that the production will be moving on to London to share the experience with a wider audience.

"New venue and premiere dates will be announced in due course, he continued, instructing fans to sign up at to receive updates at a later date." "It promises to be an exhilarating journey, Martin added. The Mad King received strong reviews from critics during its initial run at the RSC. In a four-star review, The Independent's Alice Saville wrote: "Fans of Game of Thrones are gleefully or grimly accustomed to its creator George RR Martin's utterly pitiless narrative approach.

Characters are audience faves one minute, dead the next. Like classroom goldfish, it's best not to get attached. But where the show's breakneck narrative pace makes little room for grief, theatre has its own, more emotive logic.

The Royal Shakespeare Company's stellar stage show has all the thrillingly staged battles, gory deaths and, yes, dragons that the most bloodthirsty fan could hope for. But there's also a surprising amount of heart – of the warm, still-beating kind – as it lingers on the faces of its fallen. The Game of Thrones TV adaptation came to an end in 2019 after eight successful seasons on HBO. In the years since, Martin has announced a number of spinoffs, including the already-released TV series House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and a forthcoming feature film titled Game of Thrones: Aegon's Conquest.