Ava Pickett's new play "Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy" reimagines Greek myth in a modern English setting, following Helen of Troy as she returns to a Towie-style family living room amid the aftermath of a civil war sparked by her leaving her husband for a "foreigner". Starring Michelle Dockery, the production draws unsettling parallels with recent real-world unrest, including scenes of masked vigilantes in Dover and Portsmouth, blending dark comedy with tense drama to explore women's responses to male violence and misogyny rather than focusing on toxic masculinity itself.

The play, staged at Theatre Royal Stratford East under new artistic director Lisa Spirling, features Dockery's Helen shifting between roles as victim, rebel and estranged mother, alongside strong performances from Laura Aikman as tradwife Cee and Maimuna Memon as the uncompromising Dani. An Adidas-clad Messenger acts as a modern chorus, with poetic interludes introducing god-like figures against Polly Sullivan's set and Nicola T Chang's score, though the abrupt ending leaves some ambiguity about the play's message on free will. It runs until 10 October.