Michelle Dockery and Laura Aikman to star in BLOODSPORT: AFTER HELEN OF TROY

What happens when the woman who started a war comes home to finish it? Helen of Troy, the woman whose incomparable beauty set off one of the most famous wars in history when she ran off with Prince Paris of Troy and her husband, Menelaus of Sparta, declares war on Troy in order to get her back. Now, after the decade-long Trojan War that ended with Troy burning, Helen has returned home to Sparta. Her husband is celebrating, but her best friend Cee is less convinced. The play explores the reality of Helen's homecoming, with old wounds reopening and loyalties fracturing as her true plans emerge.

Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey, ITV & Focus Features; upcoming film The Queen of Fashion) will play Helen opposite Laura Aikman (Gavin & Stacey, BBC; upcoming new series of Line of Duty, BBC) who makes her stage debut as Cee. Further casting is due to be announced.

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.

The creative team will also include 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.

Dockery commented, "I'm delighted to be part of this bold reimagining of Helen's return from Troy", while Aikman added, "I think we can deliver something really gripping and I can't wait to get started."

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