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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Fiona Mountford's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Phil Willmott, Joe Fredericks (musical director.
Cast: Kerry Skinner, The Steam Industry
Description: Phil Willmott's adaptation of Euripides' classic Greek tale. A beautiful woman claims to Menelaus that she is Helen, the infamous figure who caused the war against Troy. But is she, or has Menelaus been tricked by the gods? Musical director is Joe Fredericks.
Trains: Tube: London Bridge 
Phone: 0207403 4866
Phil Willmott links the tale of Helen of Troy and current conflicts in the Middle East
It's cheery-making to see how this annual summer season of free theatre, now in its fifth year, continues to develop. Yet for an enterprise keen on all-round accessibility, Helen of Troy is an odd choice.
Without considerable background knowledge about the beautiful Spartan woman who provoked the 10-year siege of Troy, it would be hard to comprehend quite why everyone in this piece is getting so worked up.
The thrust of Euripides's trippy, tragicomic script is that it was all a sick joke on the Gods' part: Helen never really left her husband Menelaus for Paris, but was instead spirited away to a deserted isle. The Helen in Troy was thus a phantom; the war needless carnage.
When Menelaus (Stewart Alexander) arrives, with combat gear and an American accent, it belatedly becomes clear where adaptor/director Phil Willmott is heading: a conflict in the Middle East about something that wasn't there.
The driving home of this message isn't over-subtle, and a couple of the supporting turns are tiresomely broad, but Willmott and his team largely give a good account of both themselves and the tricky text.
Kerry Skinner makes Helen the exact opposite of the "war whore/strife wife" of popular legend and she is ably supported by National Youth Theatre members as a chorus of plaintive priestesses. Challenging entertainment for a dry night.
• In rep until 9 September (morelondon.co.uk).
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
