The Royal Shakespeare Company has cancelled the first week of preview performances for “Game of Thrones: The Mad King”, but says the production remains on course to open officially on 8 August. The decision highlights the scale and complexity of the new stage adaptation, with the company saying extra time is needed for the cast and creative and technical teams to refine it.

All four scheduled previews from 20 July were cancelled, affecting some fans who had travelled from overseas, although performances are now due to begin on 25 July. The four-hour show, adapted by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke, runs at Stratford-upon-Avon until 5 September and depicts Westeros before the events of George R. R. Martin’s novels, during King Aerys II Targaryen’s reign.