The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Dramatized and Directed by John Dryden
Produced by Jane Quill
BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial
Broadcast in 3 x 1 hr Episodes
Episode 1 - 09.01.2000
Episode 2 - 16.01.2000
Episode 3 - 20.01.2000
Recorded on location in the USA with an all American cast.
Plot[]
Margaret Atwood's (1985) chilling vision of 21st-century America
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian and theocratic state that has replaced the
United States of America. Because of dangerously low reproduction rates, Handmaids are assigned to bear
children for elite couples that have trouble conceiving. Offred serves the Commander and his wife, Serena Joy,
a former gospel singer and advocate for “traditional values.” Offred is not the narrator’s real name—Handmaid
names consist of the word “of” followed by the name of the Handmaid’s Commander. Every month, when Offred is
at the right point in her menstrual cycle, she must have impersonal, wordless sex with the Commander while
Serena sits behind her, holding her hands. Offred’s freedom, like the freedom of all women, is completely
restricted. She can leave the house only on shopping trips, the door to her room cannot be completely shut,
and the Eyes, Gilead’s secret police force, watch her every public move.
The Cast[]
Offred..........................Marsha Dietlein
Professor.......................Dermot Crowle
Serena Joy......................Leslie Hendrix
Commander.......................Earl Hindman
Joseph..........................Dylan Chalfy
Ofglen..........................Mireille Enos
Aunt Lydia......................Marian Seldes
Janine..........................Emma Roberts
Moira...........................Tasha Lawrence
Critical Reactions[]
"Faultless acting and imaginative, varied and multi-layered sound effects make this one of the best
listening experiences I have had." ....Independent on Sunday
"This three-part adaptation uses a documentary style, recorded entirely on location in the US, and
avoiding the use of a single studio......" Time Out