Entertainment

Classic Game Of Thrones characters to be revived for the stage

The stage adaptation of the fantasy series promises tell a story of ‘love, vengeance and madness’.
The stage adaptation of the fantasy series promises tell a story of ‘love, vengeance and madness’. The stage adaptation of the fantasy series promises tell a story of ‘love, vengeance and madness’.

Game Of Thrones is heading to the stage with a production set to revive some of the show’s best-known characters.

The as-yet-untitled play – being developed with author George RR Martin – will explore the Great Tourney at Harrenhal, which took place 16 years before the events of HBO’s acclaimed TV adaptation.

In Martin’s books, characters including Ned Stark, Jaime Lannister, Oberyn Martell and Robert Baratheon all attended the event, raising the prospect of a return in the play.

George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin Author George RR Martin is helping to bring Game Of Thrones to the stage (Liam McBurney/PA)

The play is set to open in 2023 with productions in the West End, Broadway and Australia, organisers said.

The official description states: “The play will for the first time take audiences deeper behind the scenes of a landmark event that previously was shrouded in mystery.

“Featuring many of the most iconic and well-known characters from the series, the production will boast a story centred around love, vengeance, madness and the dangers of dealing in prophecy, in the process revealing secrets and lies that have only been hinted at until now.”

Playwright Duncan MacMillan and director Dominic Cooke are helping Martin bring Game Of Thrones to the stage.

“The seeds of war are often planted in times of peace,” Martin said.

“Few in Westeros knew the carnage to come when highborn and smallfolk alike gathered at Harrenhal to watch the finest knights of the realm compete in a great tourney, during the Year of the False Spring.

“It is a tourney oft referred during HBO’s Game Of Thrones and in my novels, A Song Of Ice And Fire. And now at last, we can tell the whole story… on the stage.”

Game Of Thrones ended its hugely successful run in 2019 and HBO is currently developing spin-offs, including a prequel series set to air next year.