Years after she walked out on her family, Helen has returned home after a war fought in her name. Her husband celebrates, her childhood friend Cee does not. Over the course of this first fragile night of peace time, wounds reopen, loyalties fracture and the true cost of a woman's choice to leave her life is made clear.Ava Pickett's fierce new play Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy is premiered at Stratford East, London, in 2026.

'It does not matter what is true, or not true. All that matters is what is written down.'Essex, 1643. In the quiet town of Manningtree, most of the men have gone to fight in the Civil War. With food running out and boredom setting in, seventeen-year-old Rebecca West longs for something, anything to happen.When a tragic incident involving a local boy coincides with the arrival of the mysterious Matthew Hopkins, the town is plunged into discord. As suspicion and fear...

'It does not matter what is true, or not true. All that matters is what is written down.'Essex, 1643. In the quiet town of Manningtree, most of the men have gone to fight in the Civil War. With food running out and boredom setting in, seventeen-year-old Rebecca West longs for something, anything to happen.When a tragic incident involving a local boy coincides with the arrival of the mysterious Matthew Hopkins, the town is plunged into discord. As suspicion and fear...

'Kings don't kill their wives alright? It's not – it just don't happen. It doesn't.'Tudor England. A field in Essex. Three women hurry to their childhood meeting place, thirsty for gossip from London. Word spreads of a clash between King Henry VIII and his Queen, Anne Boleyn. Closer to home, another rumour threatens to catch fire.As these women realise the parallels between their ordinary, rural lives and the royal drama taking place at a distance, they are faced w...

Emma Woodhouse thinks she has it all figured out. Fresh from Oxford University and back in her hometown for the summer, she's ready to do what she does best: sort out everyone else's lives, whether they like it or not.Her closest friend Harriet is a total dating disaster, her father keeps disappearing on mysterious errands, and George Knightley refuses to stop pointing out the flaws in her flawless plans. But Emma knows best... right?Emma is Jane Austen's timeless ...