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Game of Thrones' stage debut The Mad King is a roaring success in Stratford-upon-Avon. Next stop, London?
Game of Thrones: The Mad King by Duncan Macmillan fleshes out events George R.R. Martin has alluded to in A Song of Ice in Fire. And with its smashing debut, top minds are wondering whether it'll have a royal takeover of its own

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I'm not sure I need to tell you this, reader, but Game of Thrones works pretty darn well on stage, too. At least, that's what we've gathered from a recent report on the success of Game of Thrones: The Mad King, a prequel to the events depicted in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books. Written by Duncan Macmillan, the play is currently being put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Straford-Upon-Avon.
But we also noticed this in the report - that may not be the last place the show goes up.
This article we're talking about is one run by The Guardian, published August 8. A rollicking retinue of raving reviews, the piece takes snippets from folks who have already seen the Westerosi drama, one enthusiastic endorsement at a time. Then, right as it's wrapping up, The Guardian cites one theater-goer called Steven, who says of the play, "You’d expect to see it on the West End rather than Stratford."
Then we get to the interesting part.
According to The Guardian, that idea has already crossed the minds of those in the know about the subject. The outlet points to the previous example of Hamlet Hail to the Chief, a hit production put on by the RSC that then moved onto a very successful West End run. Could the same happen to The Mad King? It certainly doesn't seem impossible.
I know, I know, I'm getting ahead of myself here. Still, I can't help but revel in the delightful irony of it all. As any Game of Thrones reader knows, The Mad King himself has a reign that comes to an inglorious end. The play that's named after him, though, might have anything but.
Game of Thrones: The Mad King is showing at the Royal Shakespeare Company now. Game of Thrones and its TV spinoffs are on HBO Max.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 may have wrapped on HBO Max, but with House of the Dragon season 3 coming just around the corner, it's always a great time to read up on all things Game of Thrones. Fortunately, Popverse has everything you need to journey through the George R.R. Martin-created Westeros, including:
- Popverse's Game of Thrones watch order
- How to read George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series in order
- The biggest differences between The House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones
- The history of Westeros's greatest houses & families
- Every single dragon in The House of the Dragon so far
Plus much more coming as it gets announced!
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