Fresh from the success of her debut play, 1536, which ran at the Almeida Theatre before transferring to the West End, Ava Pickett returns with Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy at Stratford East, a play which pre-dates that of 1536, directed by Lisa Spirling.
The title is not merely a nod to Greek mythology. It is quite literal. This gripping and often very funny new play imagines what happens after Helen returns home. Helen’s ending has, of course, been reimagined countless times, but this may be the first time she has washed up in Essex.
We are in the modern day, and Helen has returned, although captured would be a more accurate description, by her husband Marcus (Jay Taylor) and his ally Mario (Gerard Monaco). As the action unfolds, we learn that Helen ran away with another man, Paris. Unable to endure the humiliation, Marcus and Mario helped ignite a civil war that has apparently “scorched England” (no mention of the rest of the UK).
Paris was not English and, in Helen’s name, a movement emerges dedicated to hunting down foreigners, dragging them from hotels and burning their businesses. The parallels with violence making headlines today are unmistakable. Less convincing is the way the conflict also becomes a battleground in the war between men and women. While this allows Pickett to explore misogyny, violence and patriarchal control, the themes are often delivered bluntly, leaving little room for ambiguity or audience interpretation. The play frequently tells us what to think rather than trusting us to arrive there ourselves.
At the centre of the drama is Cee, Mario’s wife and Helen’s oldest friend. Helen’s return to Cee’s immaculate, aspirational home forces the pair to confront old wounds, competing loyalties and the consequences of choices made years earlier.
Michelle Dockery gives a commanding performance as Helen, capturing both the character’s resilience and the exhaustion of a woman who has become a symbol rather than a person. She is matched every step of the way by Laura Aikman, whose superbly judged Cee balances affection, bitterness and self-preservation. Their shared scenes crackle with history, and it is in these quieter exchanges that the play finds its greatest emotional truth.
The standout performance, however, comes from Maimuna Memon as Dani. What initially appears to be a supporting role gradually develops into something far more significant, and Memon navigates those shifts with remarkable assurance. She brings warmth, humour and emotional weight to the evening, often grounding the play whenever its larger ideas threaten to drift into abstraction.
Jay Taylor and Gerard Monaco make a convincing double act as the men whose wounded pride has helped unleash catastrophe, while Ethan Moorhouse delivers the Messenger’s heightened passages with admirable commitment and clarity. The problem lies not with the performance but with the character itself. The Messenger often feels like an unnecessary interruption to the drama, and while the poetic language can be striking, it increasingly sounds ornamental rather than illuminating. Much of the information conveyed through these interludes could have emerged more naturally through the action.
Polly Sullivan’s set places the story within a pristine modern home, white carpets and designer furnishings sitting alongside subtle Grecian influences that remind us of the play’s mythic origins. Nicola T. Chang’s atmospheric sound design effectively enhances the sense of a society still living in the shadow of conflict.
For all its flaws, Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy remains compelling theatre. Pickett has an undeniable gift for dialogue, and Spirling keeps the production moving with confidence and pace. There is wit, intelligence and genuine dramatic tension throughout. Yet while its ideas are timely and urgent, the play too often sacrifices nuance for certainty. The result is an engaging and thought-provoking drama that never quite trusts its audience enough, but one that nevertheless confirms Ava Pickett as a playwright of considerable talent.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
