Photos: Michelle Dockery, Laura Aikman and More in Rehearsal for BLOODSPORT: AFTER HELEN OF TROY
Ava Pickett's new play will receive its world premiere at Stratford East beginning September 3.
New rehearsal photos have been released for the world premiere of Ava Pickett's Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy, starring Michelle Dockery and Laura Aikman. Check out the photos below!
The production will play Stratford East from September 3 through October 10, 2026, directed by Stratford East Artistic Director Lisa Spirling.
Dockery, known for Downton Abbey and the upcoming film The Queen of Fashion, stars as Helen, alongside Aikman (Gavin & Stacey, the upcoming new series of Line of Duty) as Cee.
Years after walking out on her family, Helen returns home following a war fought in her name. While her husband celebrates her return, her childhood friend Cee does not. Over the course of the first fragile night of peacetime, old wounds reopen, loyalties fracture and the cost of Helen's decision to leave her life behind becomes clear.
The play explores friendship, motherhood and the aftermath of the legendary woman's return home following the Trojan War.
The cast also includes 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 Chloe and Joshua-Alexander Williams as Luke.
The creative team includes sound designer and composer Nicola T. Chang, movement director Kloé Dean, costume supervisor Sophie Fuller, casting director Juliet Horsley CDG, lighting designer Zeynep Kepekli, dramaturg Ed Madden, fight and intimacy coordinator Enric Ortuño, set and Costume Designer Polly Sullivan, voice and dialect coach Claudette Williams and assistant director Ariana Xeno.
The production is supported by Eleanor Lloyd Productions, Eilene Davidson Productions, Mark Gordon Pictures and Cockayne Grants for the Arts, a Donor Advised Fund held at The Prism Charitable Trust.
Tickets are available through Stratford East.
Photo Credit: Pamela Raith
Director Lisa Spirling, Dramaturg Ed Madden and Assistant Director Ariana Xeno
Ellie Turner and Emma Monnickendam
Laura Aikman, Maimuna Memon, Ellie Turner, Emma Monnickendam and Michelle Dockery
Maimuna Memon and Joshua-Alexander Williams
Michelle Dockery and Ava Pickett
