Royal Shakespeare Company casts Game of Thrones prequel play

The Royal Shakespeare Company has revealed the full cast for its Game of Thrones prequel play, The Mad King. Michael Abubakar will portray Ned Stark, taking the role from Sean Bean; his stage credits include Romeo in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's Romeo & Juliet and Jimmy in the Almeida Theatre's Roots.

The cast also features Michael Shaffer as King Aerys II Targaryen, Noah Ritter as Prince Rhaegar, Harmony Rose-Bremner as Lyanna Stark, Maxim Ays as Jaime Lannister, Callum Woodhouse as Robert Baratheon, and Elizabeth Ayodele as Elia Martell. The Mad King is written by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke.

It will run at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in London from July 20 to Sept. 5; the production’s first week is sold out, though tickets remain for later performances.

rsc, mad king, duncan macmillan, dominic cooke, michael abubakar, ned stark, aerys ii, rhaegar, lyanna stark, london