Game of Thrones is on the hunt for more colorful featured characters for season 6, according to the newest batch of casting breakdowns that have found their way to us.

This group of characters appears to be largely connected, with several of them part of a theater troupe. The casting of theatrical performers fits with the stage we’ve seen Game of Thrones building in Girona, Spain over the last couple weeks.

There will be a bit of speculation along with the character descriptions so beware of spoilers!

Note: The roles were not submitted only recently; several (if not all) of these parts may have been cast by now. Some of these roles shoot this week, or have past filming dates.

Game of Thrones is searching for:

Grand Theatre Actor/Manager (55 – 70) The larger-than-life leader of a troupe of actors. He specializes in portraying drunken aristocrats. He is a huge presence on stage and rather nasty to his company when off-stage. They’re searching for a character actor with great comedy skills. He appears in three episodes, and is shooting this week in Spain, and the week of November 6th in Northern Ireland.

Leading Theatre Character Actor. The leading actor in a theatrical company, around 50 years old. He participates in a play using a pronounced Northern accent, and we see him behind the scenes in seedy touring dressing rooms. He’s a flamboyant caricaturist. He appears in three episodes and he also films this week in Spain and again around November 6th in N. Ireland.

Young Blond Juvenile Lead. Aged 18 – 25. A handsome blond juvenile lead in a theatrical group. He is sweet and noble, but his stage acting probably isn’t very good. We’ll see him playing a heroic young lead on stage, and then also see all the offstage politics between the actors in the dressing room. He has the same shooting dates as the above two actors.

Smart Male Theatregoer, in his 40’s or 50’s. They’re looking for a smart, posh-looking man to play a well-to-do audience member in a theatre. He has one line and is filming in Spain this week.

In addition to the theater characters, we also have:

Young Stunner. Aged 18 – 20. A stunner of a brunette. She has a couple of scenes, and a great final scene where there is a major twist. This role shot the week of August 5th in Belfast.

Sublime courtesan. Aged 20 – 25. This beautiful courtesan appears at a party where a high-born woman has employed her services. Shoots around the week of September 15th.

Long-haired warrior. Aged 30s – 40s. The show is looking for a non-white, tall muscular actor with long dark hair, a man with a powerful, warrior’s physique, intimidating presence and charisma. It’s noted that he’ll be learning lines in a fictional language learned phonetically, so we can safely assume this character is a Dothraki. The character has a lot to say in one big set-piece scene, in season 6. His shooting dates are currently set for the first two weeks of November.

Speculation includes extensive spoilers from the Mercy sample chapter from The Winds of Winter. If you’re fine with that, scroll past the gif!

In “Mercy,” Arya joins a theater troupe in disguise as a minor member of the group. The Grand Theatre Actor described above is a clear match for Izembaro, mummer, leader, and portrayer of kings. We’ve seen the stage set being built; this appears to be further confirmation of Arya’s adventure as Mercy. The odd thing is, the centerpiece of Mercy’s chapter was her taking out Arya’s Murder List™ member Raff the Sweetling – a murder echoed in Arya’s season 5 finale scene with Meryn Trant. Do we need to see something just like it again? Probably not.

Maisie Williams is in Girona right now, as the theater actors are scheduled to be, so I’m still certain this is part of her storyline. The troupe here is referred to as a traveling one, judging by the mentions of “touring.” Will the theater troupe be used to bring Arya Stark back to Westeros?