George RR Martin to revive fan-favourite characters in Game of Thrones play

Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin is developing a stage show based on the fantasy book series.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the author of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels is working with playwright Duncan MacMillan and Follies director Dominic Cooke on the project.

While other Game of Thrones prequels set in Westeros are in development for television, the as-of-yet-unnamed play is the first that will bring back much-loved characters killed off in the book series and TV show.

Set 16 years before the events of the book series, the play will centre around The Great Tourney at Harrenhal, an event alluded to in Martin’s books that led to the start of Robert Baratheon’s rebellion. It was attended by the likes of Ned and Lyanna Stark, Jamie Lannister, Robert Baratheon and Rhaegar Targaryen.

The official description reads: “The play will for the first time take audiences deeper behind the scenes of a landmark event that previously was shrouded in mystery.

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“Featuring many of the most iconic and well-known characters from the series, the production will boast a story centred 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.”

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.”

The first show is expected to debut in 2023, with the team aiming to have productions in the West End, Broadway and Australia.