A ‘Game of Thrones’ play is currently in the works.
The hit HBO fantasy series – which was based on the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ book series by George R.R. Martin – is set to be re-imagined for the stage in an upcoming play for Broadway.
The play is believed to be a prequel to the main story told in the HBO series, and will reportedly be centred around The Great Tourney at Harrenhal, an event that took place 16 years before the events of ‘Game of Thrones’.
The setting of the play means it will be close enough in time to the main series to feature some of the fan favourite characters from the main series, including Jaime Lannister and Ned Stark, who both played a key role in the competition.
The Great Tourney at Harrenhal is mentioned several times in the main series, and several crucial scandals and mysteries involved in the fantasy drama take place at this as-yet unseen tournament.
During this event, Jon Snow’s dad Rhaegar Targaryen infamously crowned Lyanna Stark as the Queen of Love and Beauty, presenting her with blue winter roses, which sent shockwaves through Westeros as Lyanna was betrothed to Robert Baratheon at the time, while Rhagar was married to Elia of Dorne.
The scandal led to Rhaegar and Lyanna running away together to secretly marry, causing a furious Robert Baratheon to wage a war.
In a press release about the play, author George R.R. Martin said: “The seeds of war are often planted in times of peace. 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 & FIRE… and now, at last, we can tell the whole story … on the stage.”
Working alongside author George R.R. Martin, the play is being written and adapted by playwright Duncan MacMillan and helmed by acclaimed UK director Dominic Cooke.
The play is expected to launch in 2023 and will come to Broadway in New York City as well as London’s West End.
