{"id":533699,"date":"2026-07-05T04:37:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T04:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/533699\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T04:37:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T04:37:28","slug":"downton-abbeys-michelle-dockery-confirmed-for-role-in-brilliant-show-thats-bold-reimagining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/533699\/","title":{"rendered":"Downton Abbey&#8217;s Michelle Dockery confirmed for role in &#8220;brilliant&#8221; show that&#8217;s &#8220;bold reimagining&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery has landed a role in a &#8220;bold reimagining&#8221; of a classic Greek mythology figure. The actor will appear alongside Gavin &amp; Stacey&#8217;s Laura Aikman in Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy at London&#8217;s Stratford East theatre.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Set to premiere later this year, 1536 writer Ava Pickett&#8217;s play focuses on Helen after walking out on her family, returning back home after the war fought in her name.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"13\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">However, while her husband &#8220;celebrates&#8221;, childhood friend Cee is not so enthusiastic, and &#8220;over the course of this first fragile night of peace time, wounds reopen, loyalties fracture and the true cost of a woman&#8217;s choice to leave her life is made clear&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"michelle dockery\" title=\"Michelle Dockery\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3000\" height=\"1996\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5f765476-96f2-45db-ad0a-def9a5d4436f.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Gilbert Flores\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"18\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Best streaming services\" data-node-id=\"18.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Best streaming services<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"22\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Bloodsport is further described as a play about &#8220;friendship, motherhood, and what happens when the woman whose face started a war, returns home to finish it&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"26\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">The production will run between 3 September to 10 October, with fans able to get tickets <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stratfordeast.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.stratfordeast.com\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"via the theatre&#039;s official website\" data-node-id=\"26.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\">via the theatre&#8217;s official website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"31\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">&#8220;Ava is such an extraordinary voice in storytelling right now and I\u2019m delighted to be part of this bold reimagining of Helen\u2019s return from Troy,&#8221; Dockery said. &#8220;Stratford East\u2019s history of bringing vital and ambitious stories to life makes it the perfect home for this production.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"35\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Aikman added: &#8220;From the moment I read Ava\u2019s brilliant script I was desperate to play Cee. I think we can deliver something really gripping and I can\u2019t wait to get started.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"michelle dockery as lady mary, downton abbey: the grand finale\" title=\"Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2000\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/michelle-dockery-downton-abbey-the-grand-finale-68b5913384943.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Rory Mulvey\/\/Universal<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"40\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">&#8220;I feel so excited and lucky to be working with [director] Lisa [Spirling], Michelle and Laura on this new play at Stratford East,&#8221; shared Pickett. &#8220;To be given the opportunity to reimagine characters we feel we know is such a privilege and I can&#8217;t wait to share this story with audiences!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"44\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Dockery is perhaps best known for playing Lady Mary Crawley in Downton Abbey, most recently reprising the role in last year&#8217;s movie The Grand Finale.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"49\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a70049607\/streaming-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a70049607\/streaming-guide\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Streaming Guide\" data-node-id=\"49.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Streaming Guide<\/a> now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"53\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">The new edition of Living Legends, celebrating the global phenomenon of BTS, is here! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/livinglegendsbts\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/livinglegendsbts\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Buy this ultimate fan guide in newsagents or online\" data-node-id=\"53.3\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Buy this ultimate fan guide in newsagents or online<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783226248_410_0a81bfbe-1026-4736-8d8a-d20144e2ec87_1551709595.png\" alt=\"Headshot of Sam Warner\" title=\"Headshot of Sam Warner\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"css-o0wq4v ev8dhu53\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">movies<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TV<\/a> and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/author\/samwarner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NME<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.screendaily.com\/sam-warner\/1100838.contributor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Screen International<\/a>. \u00a0Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/lord-of-the-rings\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lord of the Rings<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/love-is-blind\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Love Is Blind<\/a>, and is equally in his element crossing every &#8216;t&#8217; and dotting every &#8216;i&#8217; as a sub-editor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery has landed a role in a &#8220;bold reimagining&#8221; of a classic Greek mythology&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[177237,131124,137029,1105,226933,1107,93,61,60,184510,1135,226932,223989],"class_list":["post-533699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-collection-downton-abbey","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-collection-theatre","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-313b1509-72f0-442e-a6fe-f89864a6a760","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-michelle-dockery-confirmed-for-role-in-bold-reimagining","tag-sponsored-false"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}