Theatre Royal Stratford East has announced a full company of nine actors for the world premiere of Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy, a new play by award-winning writer Ava Pickett, directed by the venue’s Artistic Director Lisa Spirling. The production runs from 3 September until 10 October 2026, with a press night on 10 September, and tickets are available from £10 at www.stratfordeast.com.
Leading the cast is Michelle Dockery, best known internationally for her role as Lady Mary Crawley in Downton Abbey, who will play Helen — the mythological figure at the centre of the story. Dockery is joined by Laura Aikman, whose television credits span Gavin & Stacey and the forthcoming seventh series of Line of Duty for BBC One, as Cee, Helen’s childhood friend.
The Full Company
Completing the cast are Olivier Award-winning actress Maimuna Memon — celebrated for her work in Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the National Theatre and the Donmar Warehouse’s Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 — who takes the role of Dani. Gerard Monaco, seen in Richard II at the Bridge Theatre and the BBC’s Dear England, plays Mario. Ethan Moorhouse appears as Messenger, Emma Monnickendam as Hermione, Jay Taylor — a veteran of the Broadway, West End and Swan Theatre productions of Wolf Hall/Bring Up The Bodies — as Marcus, Ellie Turner, who has appeared in the National Theatre’s Summerfolk and the West End run of 2:22 A Ghost Story, as Woman, and Joshua-Alexander Williams, previously seen in Jamie Lloyd’s Romeo & Juliet, 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, Fight and Intimacy Coordinator Enric Ortuño, Voice and Dialect Coach Claudette Williams, Casting Director Juliet Horsley CDG, Dramaturg Ed Madden, Costume Supervisor Sophie Fuller and Assistant Director Ariana Xeno.
The Play
Pickett’s drama reimagines the aftermath of the Trojan War from a domestic and personal perspective. Years after walking out on her family, Helen returns home following the war fought in her name. Her husband welcomes her back; her closest friend Cee does not. Set across a single night — the fragile first evening of peacetime — the play traces the reopening of old wounds, fracturing loyalties and the true reckoning that follows a woman’s decision to leave her life behind. The production carries age guidance of 14 and above.
The work is the second major stage outing for Pickett, whose debut play 1536 — a drama centring on the events surrounding Anne Boleyn — is currently playing to sold-out audiences in the West End after premiering at the Almeida Theatre. That play was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best New Play 2026, won the 2024 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, received a special commendation for the 2023 George Devine Award, and earned Pickett the Stage Debut Award for Best Writer 2025, as well as the Most Promising Playwright award at both The Standard Theatre Awards 2025 and the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards 2026. Pickett is also adapting 1536 for television, commissioned by the BBC and to be produced by Drama Republic, and is co-writing a Joan of Arc feature film with Baz Luhrmann for Warner Brothers.
Stratford East and the Creative Team
Theatre Royal Stratford East, situated in Gerry Raffles Square in east London, has been a landmark producing house for new writing and diverse voices since the era of Joan Littlewood, whose work there in the 1950s and 1960s defined an entire tradition of politically engaged British theatre. The building retains its status as a receiving and producing house committed to work that reflects east London and beyond.
Director Lisa Spirling took up the role of Artistic Director and Co-CEO of the theatre having previously led Theatre503 from 2016 to 2025, where she developed numerous new plays. Her other directing credits include the Olivier-nominated Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial in the West End and Describe The Night at Hampstead Theatre.
The production is supported by Eleanor Lloyd Productions, Eilene Davidson Productions and Cockayne Grants for the Arts, a Donor Advised Fund held at The Prism Charitable Trust. Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy opens at Theatre Royal Stratford East on 3 September 2026.
