The story is, of course, well-known, and thematically well-suited to the Globe. The play is a new version by Simon Armitage. The first act has several alternating story lines; first, we follow the Greeks, with Agamemnon and Odysseus bickering with Achilles and Patroclus. On the Trojan side, Helen and Andromache are somewhat stereotypical frenemies, whilst Priam and Hector discuss strategy and Paris whinges. The third story line is meant to be the lightest, with Zeus and Hera a down-at-heel married couple, with Athene their seemingly teenaged daughter.

As seems to be prevalent lately, the second half of the play is much stronger than the first. The Greek and Trojan story lines were strong throughout, but the tone of the gods’ storyline was slightly off. The jokes fell a little flat, and whilst it was well acted, did not seem completely in line with the rest of the story. The use of Clare Calbraith to play Thetis as well as Andromache was somewhat confusing, as the costumes were very similar and it did not seem to me that the character of Thetis was particularly necessary to the plot.

The casting is excellent. Lily Cole was a tall and very beautiful Helen, although it was difficult to tell whether her impassive affect was due to the character’s desire to keep her own counsel or simply to stiff acting. I will choose to believe the former. Clare Calbraith and Simon Harrison were an affectionate and moving Andromache and Hector, and it seemed to me they had better chemistry than Helen and Paris. Tom Stuart was, however, an excellent Paris, perfectly cast and nailing the character’s wispiness, well contrasted with Hector’s dominance.

On the Greek side, David Birrell was a forthright Agamemnon and Colin Tierney a wily and cunning Odysseus, who reminded me physically of a young Ralph Fiennes. Jake Fairbrother was an extremely athletic Achilles, and his grief for Patroclus very affecting. Amongst the gods, Richard Bremmer’s Zeus was tramp-like and bedraggled, and Gillian Bevan a nagging, washer-woman Hera. The gods’ characters were fully developed by the end of the play, but much less so in the first half.

The story is a familiar one. Armitage implies a particular relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, and Helen’s actions suggest that she will miss Andromache the most of all the Trojans. Otherwise, the story is played straight, with plenty of action and some excellent wrestling and sword-fighting. Less bloody than some of the Globe’s productions this season, there was at least one fainter on the day I attended (I suspect due to the heat). This might be a particularly good Globe production for younger audience members, as the language is straightforward and the action constant throughout. Recommended.