‘Spectacular’ Game of Thrones stage spin-off opens at home of Shakespeare

The fi st Game of Th o es stage spi -off has bee lau ched by the Royal Shakespea e Compa y, a d the ve dict f om most theat e c itics is that it’s a wo thy additio to the epic fa tasy f a chise.

Game of Th o es: The Mad Ki g, a p equel set sho tly befo e the eve ts of Geo ge RR Ma ti ‘s fi st book a d the all-co que i g TV se ies, officially ope ed at the RSC i St atfo d-upo -Avo this weeke d.

The Teleg aph awa ded fou sta s to the “spellbi di g spectacle”, while the Gua dia ‘s fou -sta eview said it featu es “spectacula stagec aft a d ple ty of mode eso a ce”.

The Times was mo e lukewa m, givi g th ee sta s a d sayi g the play “lacks pace, sex a d go e”.

The Game of Th o es o igi sto y is epic i both ambitio a d executio – it has take seve yea s to each the stage, clocks i at th ee hou s 45 mi utes, a d featu es a 36-st o g cast.

The cha acte s i clude you ge ve sio s of familia figu es like Ned Sta k, Jaime La iste a d Robe t Ba atheo ; a d othe s whose fates we e key to the eve ts i the mai saga, such as Lya a Sta k, P i ce Rhaega Ta ga ye a d the “mad ki g” himself, Ae ys II Ta ga ye .

Afte ope i g i Shakespea e’s home tow , the RSC will hope it ca go o to eplicate the success of othe spi -off plays like Ha y Potte a d the Cu sed Child a d St a ge Thi gs: The Fi st Shadow, which have both had le gthy u s i the West E d a d o B oadway.

The Shakespea e co ectio stems f om the fact Ma ti ‘s ovels we e heavily i spi ed by Shakespea e’s histo y plays, especially those about the battles betwee the houses of La caste a d Yo k du i g the Wa s of the Roses i the 15th Ce tu y.

Game of Th o es’ US c eato was heavily i volved i the play, statio i g a ep ese tative i ehea sals at all times, a d he atte ded the ope i g ight i St atfo d o Satu day.

I his eview, the Gua dia ‘s Ma k Lawso w ote: “Pu ists will object that, athe tha stagi g Shakespea e-adjace t populist spi -offs, the RSC should be offe i g its house d amatist’s oyal d amas plai .

“The cou te a gume t is that hitchi g o to a cultu al jugge aut may b i g i ew sou ces of i come a d audie ces.”

Audie ces will espo d diffe e tly to the play depe di g o whethe they a e al eady loyal Game of Th o es fa s, which Lawso ‘s fou -sta ati g eflected.

“This feels like a five-sta p oductio fo most devoted th o e s but a th ee-sta fo those who have ‘t see the TV se ies,” he said.

Met o’s c itic Dave F eak ag eed, also bestowi g fou sta s.

“As a sta d-alo e piece of theat e, The Mad Ki g sc apes th ough,” he w ote. “But as a exte sio of the Game of Th o es wo ld, it sco es well, shifti g the a ative to the stage with suitably theat ical th ust.”

The Teleg aph’s Domi ic Cave dish w ote: “At almost fou hou s, it’s a lo g eve i g, sometimes too de se with detail, a d it lacks the g it a d go e ( ot to me tio the udity) of the TV se ies.

“Still, it capably se ves ewbies a d devotees, a d speaks i a timely fashio to ou age of u uly leade s.”

He added: “It’s ot up the e, yet, with the Ha y Potte o St a ge Thi gs p equels but, o bala ce, the Game of Th o es f a chise has yet a othe wo thwhile a d luc ative spi -off o its ha ds.”

The Times’ c itic Clive Davis had g eate ese vatio s, w iti g that while the play “gives ha dco e GoT fa s a cha ce to go hu ti g fo ‘Easte eggs’, it seldom comes close to matchi g the g im au a of the TV se ies”.

“Du ca Macmilla ‘s sc ipt is so ely lacki g i poet y. Eve ts plod fo wa d, o e afte the othe , a d although Michael Shaeffe is a tho oughly compelli g p ese ce as the c uel a d ch o ically u stable mo a ch Ae ys, othe pe fo ma ces seem ua ce-f ee. Too ma y li es a e simply shouted. You expect bette of the RSC.”

Davis co cluded: “It goes without sayi g that the e a e mo e tha e ough GoT devotees to keep the box office ticki g ove fo the est of ete ity, but o ly the most dedicated of them will have the e e gy fo this ma atho .”

Othe s we e mo e e thusiastic, a d Whatso stage’s Sa ah C ompto ‘s five-sta eview said the play is “a t iumph; a soa i g, su gi g spectacle a d a latte -day histo y play, both se ious a d popula “.

She added: “It is a ema kable achieveme t, wo de fully di ected by [Domi ic] Cooke a d supe bly acted by eve y membe of the 35-st o g e semble. The esult is a b illia t exhibitio of how theat e ca c eate magic.”

The I depe de t’s Alice Saville, awa di g fou sta s, said the “stella stage show has all the th illi gly staged battles, go y deaths a d, yes, d ago s that the most bloodthi sty fa could hope fo “.

“But the e’s also a su p isi g amou t of hea t – of the wa m, still-beati g ki d – as it li ge s o the faces of its falle ,” she said.

The play begi s mo e tha a decade befo e the eve ts i the fi st book a d TV se ies, ope i g with the tou ey at Ha e hal, a g eat jousti g tou ame t whe e the houses of the Seve Ki gdoms gathe ed a d whe e key eve ts i the Game of Th o es lege d took place.

Macmilla said he wa ted to c eate somethi g “o the scale of a Shakespea ea t agedy a d a Shakespea ea histo y”.

The playw ight told BBC News: “The challe ge was w iti g somethi g fo a fa base who take this wo ld a d thei cha acte s ve y, ve y se iously a d k ow so much about it, a d also the complete ewbies, a d w iti g somethi g that is goi g to wo k fo both of those people.

“Maki g somethi g that is goi g to k ock the socks off of eve ybody has bee a eal challe ge. It’s take a lo g time, but I thi k we’ve got the e.”

Cooke said the e we e “lots of simila ities” with Shakespea e, especially themes of “dy astic st uggle, what it mea s to have powe , i te ge e atio al co flict a d powe ful families”.

Ma ti has bee “ve y suppo tive” i the p ocess of c eati g the play, the di ecto added.

“He’s bee collabo ative i te ms of the developme t of the sc ipt. We’ve wo ked ve y closely with him. A d Geo ge, I thi k, picked up quite quickly that we we e ve y se ious about ho ou i g what he’d do e.”

Tama a Ha vey, the RSC’s co-a tistic di ecto , said: “Geo ge himself talks about how Shakespea e a d the Wa s of the Roses i spi ed him to w ite these sto ies.

“So the co ectio s feel ve y deep, a d of cou se themes a e sha ed: powe , love, successio , battles fo who gets to ule who – it’s all the e i the Shakespea e histo y, just as it is i Game of Th o es.”

Asked about futu e pla s fo the play, Ha vey eplied: “We’ e hopi g as ma y people as possible get to see it, a d that sta ts he e i St atfo d. A d f om the , who k ows?”