Though the show is long gone, fans of Game of Thrones have plenty to look forward to. There will be more George R.R. Martin books (hopefully), multiple new HBO shows, and now there will be a stage production that’ll go back in time to fill in a key part of Westeros history.
Sixteen years before the events in Martin’s first novel, as well as the TV show, was the Great Tourney at Harrenhal — an event often referred to because many of the major players from across Westeros were there, either competing in, or enjoying, various competitions. Think of it almost like the Westeros Olympics. At the end of the event, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen declared his love for Lyanna Stark, a young woman who was already promised to Robert Baratheon. The event led to Robert overthrowing the Targaryens and basically starting the events that took place in the novels and series.
[referenced id=”1678256″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2021/03/game-of-thrones-prequel-star-olivia-cooke-believes-the-show-wont-have-egregious-violence-towards-women/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/10/xbwqbymht7w70rqxra49-300×200.jpg” title=”Game of Thrones Prequel Star Olivia Cooke Believes the Show Won’t Have ‘Egregious Violence Towards Women’” excerpt=”Hopefully, she’s right.”]
Well, that tournament and all the drama surrounding it will be the subject of a new dramatic stage production being co-written by Martin along with playwright Duncan MacMillan. Dominic Cooke will direct. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news and here’s the play’s official description: “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 centered 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.”
You read that right. Characters who have long been gone in the novels or the TV show will appear in the show. No one is technically confirmed, but people like Ned Stark and Jamie Lannister were at the Tourney, according to the books — just younger than you’re used to seeing them. Of course, all new faces will need to be cast.
“The seeds of war are often planted in times of peace,” Martin said in a statement released to the trade. “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.”
The aim is for the show to premiere on Broadway in New York, London’s West End, and in Australia beginning in 2023.