It has been announced that a stage production of George R.R. Martin’s popular books is in the works.
Producers Simon Painter and Tim Lawson in partnership with Kilburn Live have announced plans for a stage adaptation based around Game of Thrones. Working alongside author George R.R. Martin, the play is being written and adapted by award-winning playwright Duncan MacMillan and directed by acclaimed UK director Dominic Cooke.
The play will be set at an important part of the series which will aim to take audiences deeper behind the scenes of a landmark event that previously was shrouded in mystery. It will feature many of the iconic and well-known characters from the series.
With plans to premiere the play on stage in 2023, Game of Thrones is based on George R.R. Martin’s unfinished fantasy saga A Song of Ice and Fire, which charts the numerous battles over the land of Westeros. The hugely popular TV series premiered on HBO 2011 and ran for eight seasons, winning 59 Emmy awards.
Talking about the stage adaptation George R.R. Martin said: “An amazing team has been assembled to tell the tale, starting with producers Simon Painter, Tim Lawson and Jonathan Sanford. Their knowledge and love of my world and characters has impressed me from the very first, and their plans for this production blew me away since the first time we met. Dominic Cooke, our director, is a former Artistic Director of London’s Royal Court Theatre, who brought Shakespeare’s dramas of the War of the Roses to television, and our playwright, Duncan Macmillan, has previously adapted George Orwell and Henrik Ibsen, among others. Working with them (back before the pandemic, when we could actually get together) has been a treat, and I am eager for our collaboration to resume. Our dream is to bring Westeros to Broadway, to the West End, to Australia… and eventually, to a stage near you.”
Meanwhile, Dominic Cooke commented: “I am over the moon at being given the opportunity, by the dynamic producing team of Tim Lawson, Simon Painter and Kilburn Live, to bring a new instalment of George RR Martin’s epic story to a life on stage. One of George’s inspirations for the original books was Shakespeare’s history plays so the material lends itself naturally to the theatre. Duncan MacMillan and I are having a great time digging into the dynastic power struggles at the heart of George’s extraordinary imaginative world and he has been hugely generous and supportive towards both of us.”
In addition to Simon Painter and Tim Lawson, Vince Gerardis and Jonathan Sanford will serve as executive producers.