The full company for Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy, a new play by Ava Pickett, has been revealed ahead of its world premiere at Stratford East. The production features Michelle Dockery and Laura Aikman in lead roles and marks Lisa Spirling’s directorial debut as the theatre’s artistic director.

Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy will premiere at Stratford East from 3 September to 10 October 2026, with press night on 10 September. The play explores Helen’s return home years after leaving her family for a war fought in her name, focusing on a tense reunion with her husband and childhood friend over the course of a single night.

Leading the cast are Michelle Dockery as Helen and Laura Aikman as Cee, joined by Olivier Award winner Maimuna Memon as Dani, Gerard Monaco as Mario, and Ethan Moorhouse as Messenger. The ensemble also includes Emma Monnickendam as Hermione, Jay Taylor as Marcus, Ellie Turner as Woman, and Joshua-Alexander Williams as Luke.

The creative team is led by director Lisa Spirling in her first role as artistic director of Stratford East. Costume supervision is by Sophie Fuller, with fight and intimacy coordination from Enric Ortuño. Claudette Williams handles voice and dialect coaching, and Ariana Xeno serves as assistant director.

Set and costume design is crafted by Polly Sullivan, lighting by Zeynep Kepekli, and sound and composition by Nicola T Chang. Movement direction is provided by Kloé Dean, casting by Juliet Horsley, and dramaturgy by Ed Madden.

Ava Pickett, whose debut play 1536 won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and was commended at the George Devine Award, has an established reputation in theatre and screen. Bloodsport follows a trajectory from Pickett’s Almeida Theatre premiere through a successful run at the Ambassadors Theatre, with upcoming television adaptation commissioned by the BBC.

Pickett’s other stage works include The Manningtree Witches at Mercury Theatre and Emma at the Rose Theatre. Her screen credits include Brassic, The Buccaneers, The Great, and How to Get to Heaven from Belfast. She is also co-writing a feature film about Joan of Arc with Baz Luhrmann.

The Stratford East production of Bloodsport is supported by Eleanor Lloyd Productions, Eilene Davidson Productions, and Cockayne Grants for the Arts, held at The Prism Charitable Trust.