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A stage prequel to Game of Thrones is on the way at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Game of Thrones: The Mad King will debut at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in the summer.

“A long winter thaws in Harrenhal, and spring is promised. At a lavish banquet on the eve of a jousting tournament, lovers meet and revellers speculate about who will contend. But in the shadows, amid growing unease at the blood-thirsty actions of the realm’s merciless Mad King, dissenters from his inner circle anxiously advance a treasonous plot. Far away, the drums of battle sound.”

“The play is a prequel, taking place over a decade before the events of ‘Game of Thrones.’ A long winter has started to thaw and, for the first time in years, all the great houses come together for a tournament – destined to be the greatest of the age. It feels like a new dawn, full of hope and opportunity. But tournaments always have a darker purpose,” adaptor Duncan Macmillan and director Dominic Cooke explained. Houses Targaryen, Stark, Lannister, Baratheon and Martell will all appear.

Creator George R.R. Martin is executive producer and said,

 “When I first wrote ‘Game of Thrones,’ I never imagined that it would be anything other than a book. It was a place for my imagination to exist without limits. To my great surprise, it was adapted for a series and viewers have been able to enter the world of my imagination through the medium of television. For my work to now be adapted for the stage is something I did not expect but welcome with great enthusiasm and excitement. Theater offers something unique. A place for mine and the audience’s imagination to meet and hopefully create something magical.

“For me, the RSC was the obvious choice when thinking about putting a ‘Game of Thrones’ story on the stage. Shakespeare is the greatest name in English literature, and his plays have been a constant source of inspiration to me and my writing. Not only that, he faced similar challenges in how to put a battle on stage, so we are in good company. It will be thrilling to watch the events of this new play unfold in a live environment. Duncan’s masterful script honors the world completely, and I am so excited for both fans of the series, and perhaps people who have never picked up one of my books, to experience this new story in a theater.”