The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale is a 1985 dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. The novel explores themes of women in subjugation, and the various means by which they gain agency, against a backdrop of the establishment of a totalitarian theocratic state. Sumptuary laws (essentially, dress codes) play a key role in the form of social control in the new society.

Film, stage and musical adaptation

A 1990 film adaptation of the novel was directed by Volker Schlöndorff. It starred Natasha Richardson (Offred), Faye Dunaway (Serena Joy), Robert Duvall (The Commander, Fred), Aidan Quinn (Nick), and Elizabeth McGovern (Moira).

Related Topics:
Volker Schlöndorff - Natasha Richardson - Faye Dunaway - Robert Duvall - Aidan Quinn - Elizabeth McGovern

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A straight stage adaptation by Brendon Burns was toured by the Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke, UK in 2002.

Related Topics:
Basingstoke - UK - 2002

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There is also an opera, written by Poul Ruders, which premiered in 2003.

Related Topics:
Opera - Poul Ruders - 2003

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