The Handmaid's Tale, English National Opera review ★★★★★

'Bask in sheer luxury!', 'Chic sophistication!', 'Casual elegance!', 'A chiffon tunic with tiger stripes!'... In a rare moment of humour in The Handmaid's Tale at English National Opera, imprisoned heroine Offred revels in forgotten phrases from an illicit back-number of Vogue, proffered by her admirer, The Commander. 'I thought these were banned!' she exclaims.

We are in Gilead, the former USA, after a devastating earthquake, assassination of the President and overthrow of the government by radical fundamentalists. This regime regards women as breeding stock, forbids reading and writing, and executes citizens for trivial misdemeanours.

Offred, mother of one, abducted to join the ranks of proven fertile women, is, like her companions, ritually and regularly raped in the pursuit of replenishing the population.

Rachel Nicholls, as Aunt Lydia (standing, centre), controls the handmaids. Photo: Zoe Martin

Childless women police the handmaids, their leader, Aunt Lydia, sung with crushing viciousness by stratospheric soprano Rachel Nicholls. By contrast, warmth and humanity pour out of mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey's Offred in a captivating performance of vocal and physical agility.

First performed by ENO in 2003 and first staged in this production in 2022, Poul Ruders' opera, based on Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel, a modern classic, amplifies in expressive and alarming music the shocking new world that the extremists have created. The composer names his influences as Puccini, Strauss and Berg – between them, these three are masters of character, orchestration, and storytelling, the perfect mix. There are echoes of Benjamin Britten, too, in hollow chorus work.

Women in Gilead are playthings for officers. Photo: Zoe Martin

We are constantly repelled by Gilead, but all is not lost – there is a resistance movement, and Offred's flashback story is bookended by signs of an apparently more rational society. Juliet Stevenson plays the academic introducing, in the year 2195, Offred's audio diary, secretly recorded and newly discovered. Librettist Peter Bentley skilfully distills the essence of a big book into a compelling drama.

Director Annalese Miskimmon, artistic director of ENO, is joined by theatre royalty, including lighting designer Paule Constable and costume designer Annemarie Woods. Their production feels flawless, from the skuzzy prayer booths to the seedy club and brothel for officers: dystopia is built on double standards.

Kate Lindsey as Offred and Zwakele Tshabalala as Nick. Photo: Zoe Martin

Among the outstanding cast are ENO stalwart Susan Bickley as Offred's mother, bass James Cresswell as the overbearing Commander and soprano Nadine Benjamin as Moira, who makes a break for it. Tenor Zwakele Tschabalala is disappointingly underused as sympathetic guard Nick.

Joana Carneiro, who has made a speciality of this important opera, conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of English National Opera. This performance nearly did not take place: chorus and orchestra suspended their strike over ENO's forced move to Manchester. The current whipped-up war on creativity reminds us that Atwood's Gilead is sometimes closer than we think. Hang on to those copies of Vogue...

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The Handmaid's Tale is sung in English with English surtitles. Suitable for those aged over 15. Further performances are on 3, 8, 10, 13 Feb