The Game of Thrones Stage Play Could Solve Multiple Huge Canon Mysteries
Finally, a look at Robert’s Rebellion.
The hottest new trend in franchises is the stage show spinoff. From Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to Stranger Things: The First Shadow, studios are realizing fans are willing to go on pilgrimages to another city entirely to catch an exclusive chapter of the story they love. Now, The First Shadow has been filmed for Netflix, Cursed Child has Tom Felton reprising the role of Draco Malfoy, and even other sagas like Paranormal Activity are coming to the stage.
With the way the Game of Thrones universe has been expanding with House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, it was only a matter of time before it moved to the stage too. But what is surprising is what the show will cover — and who will put it on.
According to Deadline, the Royal Shakespeare Company will bring the world of Game of Thrones to the stage in Game of Thrones: The Mad King, a new stage play directed by Dominic Cooke and written by playwright Duncan Macmillan. George R. R. Martin may not have penned the script — lord knows he’s got enough to work on — but he did attend multiple workshops in London, so fans can rest assured this will still have his magic touch.
The play has been in the works for years, but has expanded in scope from the beginning to be about Robert’s Rebellion. Set about 15 years before the events of Game of Thrones, The Mad King was originally focused, much like Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, on a single tourney: the Tourney at Harrenhal, often heralded as the greatest tourney of all time.
The Tourney at Harrenhal is where Rhaegar and Lyanna met, leading to their disappearance, which led to Robert’s Rebellion.
The Tourney at Harrenhal took place during a crucial point in Westerosi history: the Year of the False Spring, a year when all of the characters we know and love from Game of Thrones were just coming of age. Ned Stark was eighteen years old and attended with his siblings, including his sister, Lyanna Stark, who was betrothed to Robert Baratheon. Jaime Lannister was also there at the fresh age of 15, and it’s at this tourney where he earned a place on King Aerys II’s Kingsguard — a king he would later betray to earn his nickname “Kingslayer.”
Crucially, this is also the tourney where Prince Rhaegar Targaryen met Lyanna Stark. When tasked with presenting a laurel to the Queen of Love and Beauty, Rhaegar passed over his wife, Elia Martell, and instead presented the honor to Lyanna Stark. Soon after, the two would disappear, leading to Robert ultimately deciding to rebel against the Mad King and take the Iron Throne.
Despite how important this tourney was to Westerosi history, it’s never actually been included in a book. Instead, we only read various characters remembering what happened. For example, in A Game of Thrones, when Ned Stark is in his cell before his execution, he remembers, “It was the year of false spring, and he was eighteen again, down from the Eyrie to the tourney at Harrenhal. He could see the deep green of the grass and smell the pollen on the wind. Warm days and cool nights and the sweet taste of wine.”
In the books, Ned thought about the Tourney at Harrenhal while he was in his cell waiting for his execution.
Because of this piecemeal oral history, there are a number of theories surrounding the tourney that this play can actually lay to rest. First, there’s a theory that Rhaegar was actually planning to make connections at this tourney with the hopes of taking the Iron Throne from King Aerys, which explains why the King attended the tourney with no warning.
Then, there’s Ashara Dayne. Ashara, sister of the Sword of the Morning Ser Arthur Dayne, apparently had a fling with Ned at the tourney, after he got his brother Brandon to ask her for a dance on his behalf. But what is her story? In the books, there’s a mention that she was dishonored by a Stark. Was that Ned, or someone else like Brandon?
Finally, there’s a wild fan theory that could make for the perfect plot twist on stage: during the tourney, a mystery knight called the Knight of the Laughing Tree enters the lists, and manages to best three different foes. However, the identity of this knight was never revealed. The leading fan theory is that this knight was actually none other than Lyanna Stark, who was known to be a skilled fighter, much like her future niece, Arya.
Even if the stage play solves all these mysteries, there’s still one issue: where the story lies in canon. The canon of the books and the canon of the show are vastly different but are usually kept pretty separate. However, a stage play isn’t an HBO series or a book; it’s a secret third thing. So, which canon will be fleshed out? Both? Neither? Right now, we only have questions, but everything should be solved with time.
