UPDATE, with new RSC statement: Ticket holders for the UK stage production are furious over the last-minute cancellations of a week’s worth of preview performances at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
“Having booked hotels and paid for travel this is absolutely unacceptable,” writes a Reddit user on the subreddit “Absolutely Fuming at the RSC” devoted to the latest development. “They are now offering us the chance to rebook, with 0 availability for the remaining run. What a fucking joke.”
The new play, officially titled George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones: The Mad King, was to have begun preview performances July 20, with an opening date of August 8 and a closing on September 5. Stratford-upon-Avon is a two-hour drive from London.
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But after the Royal Shakespeare Company canceled the first week of previews, the RSC told Variety Friday that the performance for tonight, July 25, remained on track.
But that was yesterday. This morning, the RSC posted an Instagram announcement stating that tonight’s performance has been canceled as well. The announcement reads: “We have made the difficult decision to cancel the preview performance of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones: The Mad King this evening (Saturday 25 July at 7:15 pm).
“The decision to cancel performances is always challenging and is only taken after careful consideration of all the options available. We recognise how disappointing this will be for audiences and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.
“All audience members affected will be provided with a full and automatic refund including any fees paid.”
In a statement provided to Deadline today, the RSC adds: “While we always work hard to avoid disappointment through cancelling performances, owing to the ambitious and epic nature of this production and faced with a number of unforeseen delays, we require additional time to bring Game of Thrones: The Mad King to a public audience. The decision to cancel Saturday’s preview performance was only made after careful consideration of all options available.”
Ticket holders hoping to re-book their attendance are likely out of luck: The show’s ticket page indicates that all performances through the September 5 closing date are sold out.
On the subreddit, commenters saying they have preview tickets were furious. “When we booked the tickets originally, they did not say Preview Performances!,” writes Reddit user MikeyButch17 today. “That’s the most egregious thing. Also, they allowed us to rebook for tonight, after the person on the phone promised us the performance would go ahead regardless. What a joke!”
“In exactly the same position!,” responded el_palmo42. “Just checked into our hotel in Stratford and then received the email.”
No official word yet on whether other performances will be canceled.
The Mad King is a stage prequel that, according to its official synopsis, is set in Harrenhal as a long winter begins to thaw. “At a lavish banquet on the eve of a jousting tournament,” the synopsis reads, “lovers meet and revelers speculate about who will contend. But in the shadows, amid growing unease at the bloodthirsty 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. Family bonds, ancient prophecies, and the sacred line of succession will be tested in a dangerous campaign for power. Who will survive? Who will rise?”
The play is inspired by the “Robert’s Rebellion” lore of Martin’s sprawling book series, in which the married Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, son of the Mad King Aerys, falls in love with, and runs off with, Lyanna Stark. This leads to a rebellion led by Robert Baratheon, who is engaged to Lyanna. Successfully deposing the Mad King, The Rebellion leads to the downfall of House Targaryen.
When the production was announced, RSC Co-Artistic Directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey described the staging as “a theatrical spectacle” that is “an ambitious and exhilarating collaboration.” The creative team members are puppetry and movement designers Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell (of Lume), set designer Chloe Lamford, costume designer Georgia McGuinness, lighting designer Jon Clark, composer Will Stuart and sound designer Tom Gibbons. Duncan Macmillan (Every Brilliant Thing) is the writer, and Dominic Cooke is directing.
