Strap yourself in for an entertaining history lesson about the dramatic life of Helen of Troy, as you learn about the trials of being a woman in times past, as well as the many flaws of the glorified Greek Gods, ending in a powerful message about self-love and body-positivity. If you’re well-versed in ancient Greek mythology, you’ll know that Helen of Troy is said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world, driving men to war as she had “the face that launched a thousand ships”, and even being used as a contemporary measurement of attractiveness. But, being this beautiful did not make life easy, in fact it caused plenty of  negative, life-altering drama, and this is the strong point that Gillian encourages the audience to embrace. As the mythological story about Helen commences, beginning with her bizarre conception and birthing from an egg (acted out in interpretive dance-style on-stage), it’s clear that things are already morally-questionable, such as lying to attain sex, and also just wrong, like bestiality. As Helen’s traumatic life experiences continue to unfold, more characters of Greek mythology are introduced, from the inhumanly intelligent Odyssius to Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, light, music and poetry, with their red flag-behaviour on clear display. In line with the show’s title, A Guide to Ancient Womanhood, Gillian as Helen provides a range of beauty tips throughout the show. These beauty tips are comically linked with different dramatic events in Helen’s life, such as wearing sandals so as to be comfortable when being kidnapped on a boat that’s crossing the sea, and making sure you get lots of sleep because it’s exhausting being treated consistently like an object to own. This ancient mythological tale is engagingly enjoyable thanks to Gillian’s decision to pair it with casual, down-to-earth behaviour, like enjoying a can of Coopers Pale Ale throughout the show, passionate swearing, and using more relaxed language (like describing a women’s sexual arousal as “flooding the basement”). This casual, contemporary interpretation also encompasses the characters, with Aphrodite, the powerful Greek goddess of sexual love and beauty, amusingly portrayed as a shallow and manipulative Valley Girl, and the nobleman Paris described as a “floppy-haired, skinny jean-wearing, Wonderwall-playing f**k boy”. Gillian’s charming casualness is reminiscent of nights at the pub with partially intoxicated friends passionately ranting about a topic they’ve recently discovered, and climatically reaching a wise and thoughtful conclusion. The modest set (a stool supporting her Pale Ale) and her simple outfit of a turban, a wig of blonde curls, and a pink Grecian-style full length dress allow for all the audience’s attention to be commanded by the big, animated and captivating energy of Gillian. Gillian entertainingly communicates the five-thousand year old tale about this infatuating beauty, while cleverly emphasising the misogynistic, unbalanced and morally-corrupt world of these ancient gods in her journey to promoting self-love for women, fighting back against ridiculous and unrealistic beauty standards and body-shaming.