Review: Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy (Stratford East)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️

When it comes to exciting new playwrights, Ava Pickett’s name tends to be at the top of most people’s lists. The huge success of 1536 has set her up as an exciting and fresh new voice in theatre, with audiences keen to see more from her. They now get their wish with the world premiere of Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy at Stratford East, a show that has been on director Lisa Spirling’s radar before the explosion of 1536. Would Bloodsport be able to repeat the success of that other show and continue Pickett’s reputation for remarkable writing, or would the whole thing be a bloody disaster?

Helen of Troy is of course a figure from Greek mythology, but this story brings her back to the modern day… in Essex, perhaps unexpectedly. Asking the question what happens when Helen comes back, Bloodsport sees Helen returning home after a war fought in her name. Having walked out on her family years before, her husband is celebrating her return, but her childhood friend is less than thrilled. Set over the course of one dramatic night where loyalties are questioned and fractured, the cost of a woman’s choice to leave is made clear.

Ava Pickett is an incredibly gifted writer, and there are moments where her talent shines through, though it isn’t always clear to see in Bloodsport. There are many laugh-out-loud moments where Pickett’s witty writing thrills, but it proves less successful in its attempt to convey the serious message at the heart of the story. Contemporarising Helen of Troy and making her story a universal one that could essentially be any woman who has left and returns is a bold and admirable choice, but one that feels slightly underbaked. It becomes a bit confusing and inconsistent with a wandering tone and a narrative that felt as if it needed more time in development before being presented to an audience in this production. I also struggled to connect with the narrative style with the action of that one night interspersed by a character known as “Messenger” acting as narrator, through some overlong, awkward and inconsistent speeches. Quite jarring in comparison to the action taking place in the Essex home in the story, Bloodsport may have benefited from losing these moments altogether. 

Before attending the play, multiple people asked me how familiar I was with the story of Helen of Troy, and advised that anyone who is not as aware of the intricacies of the story may find parts of this story lost on them. I have to admit that this did turn out to be the case, regrettably, and that does seem to be a huge failing of this show. Relying on an audience’s prior knowledge for them to be able to enjoy it should never be in question. It is the playwright’s duty to ensure the writing is accessible to all, regardless of their prior knowledge, and the necessity to do research or homework before attending should never be in play. This is one of the major stumbling blocks in Bloodsport that lets it down considerably.

There is a recurring theme emerging in Ava Pickett’s work of famous women in history being re-examined through a modern setting. 1536 was set during the events of Anne Boleyn, and Pickett is currently working on a film about Joan of Arc. It doesn’t quite work as well this time around, failing to capture the same magic of 1536 and ignite in the way of its predecessor, but that is not to say it still isn’t a good play. Such is the talent of Ava Pickett that even a play where she is not at her best proves better than most, and it is still a joy to be able to sit back and enjoy her creativity.

Bloodsport is clearly a passion project for director Lisa Spirling, the first production she has directed at Stratford East since becoming its Artistic Director. That passion is clear to see throughout, with choices that heighten the comedy and, at times, intensity of the story. There are moments where the sense of the story still feeling like a work-in-progress are hard to ignore, however. Though it is relatively speedy at two hours including an interval, the pacing doesn’t always land, feeling slower than hoped in places. I got the sense that perhaps this would have benefited from following 1536 in opting to be a one-act play instead, as it felt hard to regain momentum following the interval.

A strong set design from Polly Sullivan ensures Bloodsport is visually thrilling, with the creation of Cee’s Essex home rich in detail. Sullivan’s costume design allows for a surprising first glimpse of Helen in an extreme juxtaposition with the setting, while Zeynep Kepekli’s lighting keeps the visual aesthetic thrilling, with a clever and creative moment at the start of Act Two, which I would have liked to have seen more from.

Michelle Dockery takes on the role of Helen in a dominating performance that feels understated yet oddly compelling. There are moments where you see the weight of anguish and conflict in Helen’s mind, with Dockery doing a great job at displaying the turmoil inside of her. It is a largely understated performance, but that only makes the bigger moments from the character all the more impactful. Laura Aikman plays Helen’s childhood friend, Cee, with the action taking place in her house. Aikman’s characterisation does come across as somewhat one-dimensional throughout, though her knack for comic timing cannot be faulted, it was hard to buy into the believability of the character with a lack of dynamic between the two supposedly leading women.

I say supposedly as I got the sense Bloodsport didn’t know who its main characters are. While the poster depicts Dockery’s Helen and Aikman’s Cee, there is also something to be said about Maimuna Memon’s Dani. There are a number of scenes with Helen and Dani alone, creating the dynamic missing from those scenes with Cee, but it feels as if the writing doesn’t know how much significance to put on this character, despite her being an important catalyst in the story. I struggled to follow every aspect of this character with more I would love to say but wouldn’t want to spoil anything, but that does not detract from what a remarkable actor Memon is, as proven once again here, even if the material didn’t quite live up to her talent.

The male characters in Bloodsport almost feel like an afterthought, with the action focusing on the women and how it affects them. This feels very much deliberate as a message to the Patriarchy and how women’s lives are impacted through the actions of men, similarly in some sense to 1536. This does mean however that Gerard Monaco and Jay Taylor have little to do as Mario and Marcus, while the use of Ethan Moorhouse as Messenger feels slightly baffling and at odds with the story itself.

There is certainly a rise in Greek mythology of late, with the success of The Odyssey in cinema and a contender for my play of the year, The Oresteia at London’s Bridge Theatre. That play showed how to take characters from Greek mythology and contemporise them in a way that gives them an intriguing new angle while retaining the essence of the story. Crucially, that play also felt accessible to all, no matter how much your knowledge of the subject. This is where Bloodsport fails. It foolishly assumes the audience will be clued up on the subject to understand every reference, and if you don’t, the whole thing falls flat. More care needs to be taken to figure out how to tell this story, as there is very clearly a lot of potential to be had here. It is in no sense a bad play, but it is frustrating how it never comes alive in the way it should, especially with the knowledge of what a gifted playwright Ava Pickett is. While the result is still a mildly enjoyable watch, it certainly can’t be considered beautiful enough to launch a thousand ships.

Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy plays at Stratford East until 10th October. Tickets from https://www.stratfordeast.com/whats-on/all-shows/bloodsport-after-helen-of-troy

Photos by Tristram Kenton and Pamela Raith