A game of tones for Coldplay

The popular band unveils a musical sketch of the widely-watched Game of Thrones, to raise funds for Red Nose Day.

Photo: Special arrangement

Fans are going wild. There’s an eruption of cheers, screams and Facebook comments, as British rock band Coldplay released its Game of Thrones: The Musical sketch on May 22. Partnering with Red Nose Day, a campaign that aims to raise funds for youth living in poverty through comedic acts and short films, featuring guest stars, the sketch premiered on USA’s NBC channel.

The Thrones cast is well-known for its many members who are musically inclined. Jerome Flynn (who plays swordsman Bronn), for instance, was part of the famous 90s English pop duo, Robson and Jerome. However, he does not make an appearance in this video, which features acts from other actors in the show.

The sketch opens with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin having a ‘brilliant idea’ — a

Game of Thrones musical. He then records it with his band mates, including drummer Will Champion, who was part of season three’s Rains of Castamere episode, where several beloved characters were massacred in the Red Wedding.

There are humorous jabs amongst the band in the beginning, and interviews of

Thrones’ cast members who are vehemently against recording the musical. In fact, Emilia Clarke (Queen Daenerys Targaryen) at first says that the idea is ‘Titanic — in terms of the unsuccessful boat!’, only to later croon the hugely entertaining song, ‘Rastafarian Targaryen’.

It is with the entry of an enthusiastic Kit Harington, who is hugged over and over by a visibly star-struck Martin, that the idea finally takes off. Harington is then filmed serenading his onscreen lover Rose Leslie with a rendition of ‘Wildling’, to which the cast’s response is encouraging. In fact, Leslie admonishes Martin with her trademark ‘You know nothing’, after Harington is told that he was off-key.

Touching moments among cast members ensue, such as the friendly reunion of Iwan Rheon and Alfie Allen, who play the sadist Ramsay Bolton and his victim Theon Greyjoy/Reek respectively. A grumpy Robert Baratheon and a scheming Jojen Reed also bring many laughs.

This compliments the musical performance of Peter Dinklage about the longevity of his character Tyrion Lannister (‘A Man For All Seasons - Still Going Strong’) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s song (Jaime Lannister) ‘Closer To Home’, which is described by the narrator as ‘the first romantic ballad about incest’. There is even a random, but hilarious cameo by Liam Neeson to look forward to in the end.

The video has sent social media into a frenzy— the post on Coldplay’s page has been shared over 6000 times on Facebook in the two hours since it was posted. Clearly, fans love seeing the fun side of their favourite characters. And it’s all for a good cause!