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First look at rehearsal photos for BLOODSPORT: AFTER HELEN OF TROY

Shehrazade Zafar-Arif 21 August, 2026, 13:00

New rehearsal photos have been released of Michelle Dockery, Laura Aikman, and the cast of Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy ahead of its world premiere at Stratford East this autumn.

Rehearsal photo for Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy. Photo by Pamela RaithRehearsal photo for Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy. Photo by Pamela Raith

What happens when the woman who started a war comes home to finish it? In this modern-day retelling of the story of Helen of Troy, the woman whose incomparable beauty set off the Trojan War, Helen returns home years after walking out on her family, in the aftermath of a war fought in her name. Her husband is celebrating, but her best friend Cee is less convinced. Over the course of this first fragile night of peace time, wounds reopen, loyalties fracture, and the true cost of a woman's choice to leave her life is made clear.

Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy is written by Ava Pickett, whose award-winning debut historical play 1536 delighted and enchanted audiences at the Almeida Theatre, and who is co-writing a film about Joan of Arc with Baz Luhrmann. Artistic Director Lisa Spirling (The Boys Are Kissing, In Event of Moone Disaster) makes her directorial debut at Stratford East with this fierce new play.

It stars Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey) as Helen alongside Laura Aikman (Gavin & Stacey) as Cee, alongside Olivier Award-winner Maimuna Memon as Dani, Gerard Monaco as Mario, Ethan Moorhouse as Messenger, Emma Monnickendam as Hermione, Jay Taylor as Marcus, Ellie Turner as Woman and Joshua-Alexander Williams as Luke.

The creative team includes Set and Costume Designer Polly Sullivan, Lighting Designer Zeynep Kepekli, Sound Designer and Composer Nicola T. Chang, Movement Director Kloé Dean, Casting Director Juliet Horsley CDG and Dramaturg Ed Madden, joined by Costume Supervisor Sophie Fuller, Fight & Intimacy Coordinator Enric Ortuño, Voice and Dialect by Claudette Williams and Assistant Director Ariana Xeno.

Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy will run at Stratford East from 3 September 2026, with a Press Night on 10 September.

Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy Tickets

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