Four-hour ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel play earns ovation despite rocky start

A new stage adaptation set in George R.R. Martin’s fantasy universe finally found its footing this week, earning a standing ovation from its first audience after a string of last-minute cancellations threatened to overshadow its debut.

“Game of Thrones: The Mad King,” the Royal Shakespeare Company’s four-hour prequel to Mr. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels, was supposed to begin preview performances July 20 at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. Instead, all four performances scheduled for that first week were scrapped, and a fifth preview set for July 25 was called off just hours before curtain, leaving ticket holders — some of whom had traveled from overseas — stranded and furious.

The RSC offered no detailed explanation at first, but a spokesperson later attributed the delays to what the company called “the ambitious and epic nature of this production” and a series of unforeseen setbacks. The company told the Stratford Herald it was “a combination of circumstances rather than one, specific factor” behind the cancellations.

Frustration mounted among fans as the delays piled up. The RSC has said all affected ticket holders would receive automatic refunds, though the company would not cover travel or hotel costs. Despite the setbacks, tickets for the bulk of the show’s run — including an added Aug. 1 matinee — were largely sold out heading into the week.

The show finally got off the ground Tuesday, with director Dominic Cooke addressing the audience directly before the curtain rose. Mr. Cooke told the crowd the cast had not yet run through the full production on stage and that he, too, would be seeing it beginning to end for the first time alongside them, according to the Herald. He also warned that understudies or a stage manager might need to step in if technical issues arose.

None did. The approximately four-hour performance, including a 20-minute interval, ran without interruption, and the audience responded with a standing ovation and two curtain calls for the cast, the Herald reported.

Adapted by Duncan Macmillan and set roughly a decade before the events of Mr. Martin’s novels, “The Mad King” dramatizes the tournament at Harrenhal and the growing plot against the tyrannical King Aerys II Targaryen that helped set the stage for Robert’s Rebellion. Michael Shaeffer stars as the title character, with a large ensemble cast filling out the sprawling world of Westeros. The production is co-produced with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures on behalf of HBO.

“The Mad King” is scheduled to officially open Aug. 8 and run through Sept. 5.