Full Score & Orchestral Parts & Chorus Score (excerpts from the Vocal Score) are available on hire from the publisher or via the publisher’s local representatives
Instrumentation for reduced orchestra
The reduced score was commissioned by the Boston Lyric Opera, 2019.
Orchestra
1 Piccolo
3 Oboes
3 Clarinets in Bb (3rd dbl. Bass Cl. in Bb)
3 bassoons
4 Horns in F
3 Trumpets in Bb
3 Trombones
Tuba
Timpani (1 player)
Percussion (2 players – see parts for individual distribution)
Download Mainstage 3 from the App store and run it on a Mac. The Mac should be connected to an amped stereo speaker set-up. Connect a 5 octaves keyboard using USB or a Midi-interface to the Mac. Double click the file: "Ruders - The Handmaids Tale GS" and Mainstage will open the session. There are 6 presets to choose from, as notated in the part – and you should be up and running.
Digital piano
Full range with the following pre-stored voices: piano, electric piano, church organ, harpsichord, vibes, strings (the piano and string programmes must be simultaneously operational, likewise piano and vibes).
Strings (minimum: 10/8/6/4/4)
The score is not in C. All accidentals apply to each individual note inside the bar, except for tie-overs. All naturals courtesy.
CHARACTERS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Professor Pieixoto (ca. 40)...............................................................non-singing
Offred (red hair, ca. 30)...............................................................mezzo soprano
The Double (Offred in the Time Before, red hair, midtwenties) ...mezzo soprano
Luke (Offred’s husband, midthirties)..........................................................tenor
Luke and Offred’s Daughter (ca. 5)...............................................non-singing
HUSTRUER – lyseblå dragt m. nonneagtig hovedbeklædning
KOMMANDANTER – sort uniform, kasket
MARTHA’ER – hospitalsgrøn dragt
ØKONOKONER – stribet dragt, (rød, blå, grøn)
ØJNE – grå uniform
ENKER – sort dragt
SYNOPSIS
by Paul Bentley
SYMPOSIUM PROLOGUE
AD 2195 – we are present at a worldwide Video Conference: the Twelfth Symposium on the Republic of Gilead. In the first half of the 21st century the Bible Belt garrotted America. Appalled by widespread pollution – physical, moral and spiritual – and above all by the low birth rate, right-wing fundamentalists assassinated the President and the Congress and installed their own Bible-based dictatorship, the Republic of Gilead. They denied women the right to work or possess property, to read or write. More: all women of childbearing age living in sin or second marriages were forcibly separated from their families and sent off to indoctrination centres, run by ‘Aunts’. There the women became Handmaids, due to be posted to selected childless households and ritually impregnated by the husband in the presence of his wife. Professor Pieixoto of Cambridge University introduces a recently discovered diary, recorded on audiocassettes by a Handmaid in hiding. He plays the first tape, and we hear her telling her tale ... She is torn from her husband Luke (it was his second marriage) and their five-year-old daughter and taken to the Red Centre.
THE RED CENTRE PRELUDE
Here the classes are run by Aunt Lydia. Our Handmaid’s friend, Moira, is dragged back after a failed escape attempt. Another woman, Janine, breaks down and thinks she is a waitperson again. Moira escapes a second time. The other Handmaids graduate.
ACT ONE
Three years later our Handmaid, who has not yet borne a child for Gilead, transfers to her third posting, where she is known as Offred (Of Fred), after the Commander of the house. She recognizes the Wife as Serena Joy, a Gospel singer in the Time Before. Offred goes shopping paired with another Handmaid, Ofglen, and they meet Janine, now heavily pregnant. When Offred visits the doctor he offers to impregnate her. She declines, fearfully. Back ‘home’ handyman Nick tries to chat and the Commander approaches Offred’s bedroom – both illegal acts. The household assembles for Forepray, and Offred undergoes her monthly ritual impregnation. Afterwards handyman Nick tells her the Commander wants to see her privately. Highly illegal. Next day all the Wives and Handmaids of the district meet at the Red Centre to celebrate the birth of Janine’s baby. Back home Offred visits the Commander in his study at night. Afterwards in her bedroom Offred collapses, laughing hysterically.
ACT TWO
Next morning Rita the servant finds Offred still prone, and over-reacts. Offred visits the Commander again and begins to relax; but then he caresses her during the next ritual impregnation and she is terrified Serena Joy will notice. Offred and Ofglen go prayer shopping and discover they are both rebels. Ofglen reveals that there is an underground movement. Janine (whose baby turned out to be defective and was exterminated) joins them but breaks down again. Guards take her away to be hanged. Offred’s night visits to the Commander continue. He explains things – why Rita over-reacted, for instance. Child-hungry Serena Joy secretly bribes Offred to try getting pregnant by Nick. The bribe is a photo of Offred’s missing daughter. The Commander smuggles Offred into Jezebel’s, a private brothel for top-ranking men in Gilead. She meets Moira there. Back home Offred and Nick make love. Often. Then Wives and Handmaids meet to witness the hanging of ‘criminals’. The Handmaids are allowed to destroy a ‘rapist’. Ofglen starts by kicking him unconscious to spare him pain – he was in fact part of the underground. That afternoon Offred finds she has a new shopping partner. Back home Serena Joy has learned about Offred’s affair with the Commander. As Offred, Joy, the Commander and Rita react to this, the secret police, the “Eyes of God”, arrive to arrest Offred and take her away.
SYMPOSIUM EPILOGUE
AD 2195, Professor Pieixoto tells us that the ultimate fate of Offred and the men in her life is unknown.
SYNOPSIS
af Paul Bentley
SYMPOSIUM PROLOG
2195 e.Kr. Vi er til stede ved en verdensomspændende videokonference: det Tolvte Symposium om Republikken Gilead. I begyndelsen af det 21. århundrede tog Bibelbæltet kvælertag på USA. Forfærdede over den omfattende forurening, såvel fysisk, moralsk som åndeligt – og ikke mindst over den faldende fødselsrate – myrdede højreorienterede fundamentalister landets præsident og alle medlemmer af kongressen, og etablerede deres eget bibelbaserede diktatur, Republikken Gilead. De nægtede kvinder retten til arbejde og til at besidde ejendom, samt til at læse og skrive. Endvidere blev alle kvinder i den fødedygtige alder, som levede i synd eller 2. ægteskab, tvangssepareret fra deres familier og sendt til indoktrineringscentre, ledet af ‘Tanter’. Her blev kvinderne oplært til at være Tjenerinder, som blev sendt ud til barnløse husstande for at blive rituelt befrugtet af manden i overværelse af hans Hustru. På symposiet fremlægger Professor Pieixoto fra Cambridge University en nyligt opdaget dagbog, optaget på kassettebånd af en Tjenerinde i skjul. Han afspiller båndet, og vi hører hende fortælle sin historie: hun blev revet væk fra sin mand Luke (det var nemlig hans andet ægteskab) og deres femårige datter og ført til Det Røde Center.
PRÆLUDIUM. DET RØDE CENTER
Kurserne her ledes af Tante Lydia. Vores Tjenerindes veninde, Moira, slæbes tilbage efter et mislykket flugtforsøg. En anden kvinde, Janine, bryder sammen og tror at hun er servitrice igen. Moira flygter for anden gang. De andre Tjenerinder får deres dimissionsbevis.
FØRSTE AKT
Tre år senere bliver vores Tjenerinde, som endnu ikke har født et barn for Gilead, overført til sin tredje post, hvor hun kaldes TilFred efter husets Kommandant. Hun genkender Hustruen som Serena Joy, en gospelsangerinde fra Tiden Før. TilFred går på indkøb med en anden Tjenerinde, Tilglen, og de møder Janine, som nu er højgravid. Ved sit månedlige kontrolbesøg hos lægen tilbyder han at befrugte TilFred, men hun afslår frygtsomt. Hjemme igen prøver altmuligmanden Nick at snakke med hende, og Kommandanten nærmer sig TilFreds soveværelse, hvilket begge er ulovlige handlinger. Familien samles til Forbøn, og TilFred underkastes den månedlige rituelle befrugtning. Altmuligmanden Nick fortæller hende bagefter, at Kommandanten – yderst ulovligt – vil mødes med hende under fire øjne. Næste dag mødes alle Hustruer og Tjenerinder i Det Røde Center for at fejre fødslen af Janines barn. Om natten besøger TilFred Kommandanten på hans kontor. Tilbage i sit soveværelse får TilFred et hysterisk anfald og falder om.
ANDEN AKT
Næste morgen finder Martha-tjenestepigen Rita TilFred liggende på gulvet og bliver voldsomt forskrækket. TilFred besøger Kommandanten igen og begynder at slappe af, men under den næste rituelle befrugtning begynder han at kærtegne hende og hun er rædselsslagen for at Serena Joy vil lægge mærke til det. TilFred og Tilglen går til bøn og på indkøb, og opdager at de begge to er oprørere, og Tilglen afslører, at der findes en undergrundsbevægelse. Janine (hvis barn viste sig at være en ‘kassabel’) slutter sig til dem, men bryder sammen igen. Vogtere fører hende bort til hængning. TilFreds natlige besøg hos Kommandanten fortsætter. Han afslører enkelte dunkle punkter for hende, som for eksempel hvorfor Rita blev så forskrækket over at finde hende på gulvet i hendes værelse. Serena Joy, som hungrer efter at få børn, bestikker i al hemmelighed TilFred til at prøve at blive gravid med Nick. Bestikkelsen består af et billede af TilFred’s forsvundne datter. Kommandanten smugler TilFred med på Jezebel’s, et privat bordel for højtstående mænd i Gilead. Her møder hun Moira. Når hun er hjemme, opsøger TilFred ofte Nick, og de går i seng med hinanden. Hustruer og Tjenerinder mødes for at overvære hængningen af ‘kriminelle’, og Tjenerinderne får lov til at dræbe en såkaldt voldtægtsforbryder. Tilglen sparker ham til bevidstløshed for at forkorte hans pinsler, da han var et af medlemmerne af undergrundsbevægelsen. Samme eftermiddag får TilFred nyt følgeskab på sine indkøbsture af Ny Tilglen. Hjemme har Serena Joy opdaget TilFreds affære med Kommandanten, og det hemmelige politi, “Øjnene” bliver tilkaldt for at arrestere hende og fører hende bort.
SYMPOSIUM EPILOG
År 2195 e.Kr. Professor Pieixoto fortæller os, at det er uvist, hvad der videre skete med TilFred og mændene i hendes liv.
NOTES
ABOUT THE PIANO REDUCTION
The piano reduction was originally for two pianos. For practical reasons the present version is for one piano. The extra staves have been maintained (they are the smaller ones), to serve as extra cueing ad lib.
NOTE ON ”TIME BEFORE” AND “TIME BETWEEN” AND “TIME NOW”
Because of the importance of the closeness in time of the “opera fictional time” and the present time (for any audience), the time levels of future productions will have to be adjusted. See the graphic below.
It is important that the audience is given the impression that the Revolution of Gilead is about to happen. If Gilead does happen there will be no opera productions, so no provision for that situation is necessary. If you are “future enough” to read this in year 2195 AD (or later), we are confident that you will know – if not everything – then at least exactly what to do.
Present time for audience (given production year-plus-zero)
Gilead Revolution taking place
(given production year-plus-two)
Gilead Revolution, Offred at the Red Centre (given production year-plus-two)
End of Offred’s second posting as Handmaid (given production year-plus-six)
Offred begins her third posting with Commander Fred (given production year-plus-six)
Offred’s escape (?) - FINIS OPERA (time unknown)
SCENES
1 SYMPOSIUM PROLOGUE (2195 AD) – Professor Pieixoto, Offred, The Double, Luke, The Daughter, Handmaids
THE RED CENTRE PRELUDE (two years ahead of the date of performance)
8 Scene 1 THE CLASSROOM – Lydia, Handmaids, Offred, Janine
22 Scene 2 THE DORMITORY – Offred, Moira, Janine, Handmaids
35 Scene 3 THE CLASSROOM – Lydia, Offred, Moira, Janine, Handmaids
48 Scene 4 THE WASHROOM – Lydia, Offred, Moira, Moira’s Aunt
56 Scene 5 THE RED CENTRE HALL – Lydia, Offred, Janine, Aunts, Handmaids
ACT ONE (six years ahead of the date of performance)
63 Scene 1 THE WALL – Offred
65 Scene 2 THE HOUSE IN THE DAY – Offred, Serena Joy, Rita
71 Scene 3 OFFRED’S BEDROOM – Offred, Rita, Serena Joy, Luke, The Double, Coro
87 Scene 4A THE KITCHEN – Rita, The Double, Moira, Offred
94 Scene 4B THE WALK TO THE SHOPS – Offred, Ofglen, Janine, Econowives, Handmaids, Guardian
105 Scene 5 THE WALL – Offred, Ofglen
108 Scene 6 THE HOUSE IN THE DAY – Nick, Lydia, The Mother, Luke, The Double, Offred, Coro, The Commander
124 Scene 7 THE WALL – Ofglen, Offred
128 Scene 8 THE DOCTOR – Offred, The Doctor, Offglen
150 Scene 9 OFFRED’S BEDROOM – Lydia, Offred, The Daughter, The Double, Luke
160 Scene 10 JOY’S SITTING ROOM – Offred, The Mother, The Double, Rita, Nick, Joy, Comm., Coro
176 Scene 11 OFFRED’S BEDROOM – Offred, Nick
177 Scene 12 THE RED CENTRE HALL – Handmaids, Wives, Lydia, Guards, Janine, The Double, Moira, The Mother, Aunts, Warren’s Wife, The Daughter, Luke
206 Scene 13 THE HOUSE AT NIGHT – Offred, The Commander
210 Scene 14 OFFREDS’S BEDROOM – Offred
ACT TWO (six years ahead of the date of performance)
213 Scene 1 OFFRED’S BEDROOM – Rita, Offred
216 Scene 2 THE HOUSE AT NIGHT – The Commander, Offred, Nick
223 Scene 3 JOY’S SITTING ROOM – Serena Joy, Offred, The Commander, The Double, Luke, Coro
226 Scene 4A THE KITCHEN – Rita, The Double, Moira, Luke
231 Scene 4B THE WALK TO THE SHOPS – Offred, Nick, Ofglen, A Handmaid, Janine/Ofwarren
250 Scene 5 THE WALL – Guards, Ofglen, Offred
255 Scene 6 THE HOUSE AT NIGHT – The Double, Luke, Offred, The Commander
274 Scene 7 THE WALL – Guards, The Daughter, Luke, Ofglen, Offred
283 Scene 8 THE HOUSE – Serena Joy, Offred
287 Scene 9 OFFRED’S BEDROOM – Offred, The Double, Lydia, Aunt
302 Scene 10 THE STUDY – The Commander, Offred, Nick
313 Scene 11 JEZEBEL’S – The Commander, Offred, Commander X, Moira
324 Scene 12 JEZEBEL’S RESTROOM – Moira, Offred, Jezebel’s Girls
327 Scene 13 JEZEBEL’S BEDROOM – The Commander, Offred
330 Scene 14 JOY’S SITTING ROOM – Serena Joy, Nick
332 Scene 15 OFFRED’S BEDROOM – Serena Joy, Offred, Nick
341 Scene 16 THE SALVAGING CENTRE – Wives, Handmaids, Lydia, Guards, A Man, Offred, Ofglen
363 Scene 17 THE WALL – New Ofglen, Offred
369 Scene 18 THE HOUSE – Serena Joy, Offred
375 Scene 19 THE HOUSE – Offred, Serena Joy, The Commander, Rita, Nick, Eyes
385 POSTLUDE (Instrumental)
397 SYMPOSIUM EPILOGUE (2195 AD) – Professor Pieixoto, The Double, Luke, The Daughter, Guards
PRE-OPERA STAGE SET-UP
While the house lights are up and people are taking their seats and reading programmes a proscenium-arch-filling Video Conference screen displays the following four moving “screen savers”:
INTERNATIONAL HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION CONVENTION 20-25 JUNE 2195
TWELFTH SYMPOSIUM ON THE REPUBLIC OF GILEAD (FORMERLY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)
SYMPOSIUM SUBJECT: IRAN AND GILEAD: TWO EARLY TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY MONOTHEOCRATIC STATES
TODAY’S KEYNOTE LECTURE: A RECENTLY DISCOVERED GILEAD DIARY “THE HANDMAID’S TALE” RECORDED ON PERIOD AUDIO CASSETTES
TODAY’S KEYNOTE PRESENTER: PROFESSOR JAMES DARCY PIEIXOTO DIRECTOR, 20TH & 21ST CENTURY ARCHIVES CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY, ENGLAND
To signal the start of the opera an “International Historical Association Convention Symposium Sound Logo” is heard, on the screen we see a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 countdown as the house lights fade, the four “screen savers” fade out, and the Symposium Transmission commences.
PRÆ-OPERA SCENEANGIVELSE
Mens lyset i salen er tændt og folk indtager deres pladser og læser deres programmer viser en video-konferenceskærm, der fylder hele prosceniet, følgende fire skiftende pauseskærme:
DET INTERNATIONALE HISTORIKERFORBUNDS KONGRES 20.-25. JUNI 2195
TOLVTE SYMPOSIUM OM REPUBLIKKEN GILEAD (TIDLIGERE AMERIKAS FORENEDE STATER)
SYMPOSIETS EMNE: IRAN OG GILEAD: TO MONOTEOKRATISKE STATER FRA BEGYNDELSEN AF DET 21. ÅRHUNDREDE
DAGENS HOVEDFORDRAG: EN NYLIG OPDAGET DAGBOG FRA GILEAD: “TJENERINDENS FORTÆLLING” INDSPILLET PÅ HISTORISKE KASSETTEBÅND
DAGENS HOVEDFOREDRAGSHOLDER: PROFESSOR JAMES DARCY PIEIXOTO, LEDER AF ARKIVERNE FOR DET 20. OG 21. ÅRHUNDREDE, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY, ENGLAND
For at markere starten på operaen høres Det Internationale Historikerforbunds Kongres’ lydlogo, og man ser en 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 “countdown”, alt imens salens lys dæmpes. De fire “screen savers” toner ud og transmissionen af symposiet begynder.
OPERA
SYMPOSIUM PROLOGUE (2195 AD)
The Symposium Transmission starts with a minute or so of a fast-moving Surreal Montage of images (still and moving) and headlines from the period which led up to the establishment of the Republic of Gilead, accompanied by a sound-track of sound-effects (e.g. jet engines, gun shots, explosions) and music. The Surreal Montage should include such headlines as:
2002 AD ... San Andreas Quake Wrecks Nuclear Power Plants ... California Evacuated ... Water Supply Poisoned ... Food Riots In New York ... Famine Grips USA ... Aids Epidemic ... Birth-Rate Plunges To All-Time Low ... President And Congress Assassinated ... Constitution Suspended ... State Of Emergency Declared ... Divorce Banned ... Pornography Banned ... Abortion Banned ... Republic Of Gilead Established ...
The non-verbal visual images (still or moving) in the montage should very clearly make the point that Gilead was formerly the USA. Hence they might include:
The Statue of Liberty, Seagrams Building, White House, Lincoln Memorial, Chicago Wrigley Building, Golden Gate Bridge plus – earthquake, wrecked atomic power station, toxic dump, tanks and guns firing, helicopters, corpses, hanged bodies, armed check points and – Aunts, Commanders, Wives, Marthas, Econowives, Eye vans.
After a minute or so of this fast montage there is a sequence with a black Eye van with a white winged Eye painted on the side, or maybe of a black flag with a white winged Eye in the centre. The camera pans into a close-up of the white at the centre of the Eye. The Surreal Montage ends and we enter a calm, quiet, measured world.
The camera zooms out, and the white is now the white of a cross on the front cover of a large black Bible. The camera draws back from the book and we see that the Bible is held in the hands of Professor Pieixoto. On the top right corner of the screen is a time, date and channel check: hour 10, day 25, month 6, year 2195, channel 105,237. It disappears after a few seconds.
Any colour in this scene should be subdued. Prof. Pieixoto should always speak in English, with subtitles if necessary.
PIEIXOTO (opening the Bible with a bookmark, and reading aloud)
“When Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, she said unto Jacob, Give me children or else I die.
And Jacob said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
And Rachel said, Behold my maid Bilhah. Go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may have children by her.”
(The screen briefly shows the caption “Genesis, chapter 30, verses 1-3” in English or in the audience’s language)
PIEIXOTO (closing the Bible and smiling)
Today you will meet a Handmaid from Gilead, decidedly different to her Biblical prototype in Genesis.
(He indicates thirty commercial audio cassettes on the table in front of him)
Audio cassettes from the time before Gilead, from the twentieth century.
(He picks up four of them and reads the titles)
Madonna ... Folk Songs of Latvia ...
The Grateful Dead ... Twisted Sister at Carnegie Hall ... You find them in museums all over the world. But for students of Gilead these thirty are special, because we believe they were used by a Handmaid, a Handmaid in hiding, to tell us her tale, the tale of her – passion ...
(He inserts a cassette into the tape recorder on the table)
PIEIXOTO (looking at us)
Behold our Handmaid.
(He presses the Play button of the recorder. The orchestra plays the opening chord. We hear Offred’s amplified voice; she is recording her diary after her escape)
SYMPOSIUM PROLOG (2195 e.Kr.)
Symposiumtransmissionen begynder med en hurtigtskiftende, surrealistisk billedmontage (still-billeder og levende billeder) og overskrifter fra den periode, der ledte frem til dannelsen af Republikken Gilead, akkompagneret af et lydspor af lydeffekter (f.eks. jetmotorer, skud, eksplosioner) og musik. Den surrealistiske montage indeholder følgende overskrifter:
“San Andreas jordskælv ødelægger atomkraftværker ... Californien evakueret ... Vandforsyning forgiftet ... Hamstring af fødevarer i New York ... Sult rammer USA ... Aids-epidemi ... Fødselstallet det laveste nogensinde ... Præsident og kongresmedlemmer myrdet ... Forfatningen suspenderet ... Undtagelsestilstand erklæret ... Skilsmisser forbydes ... Pornografi forbydes ... Abort forbydes ... Republikken Gilead grundlagt ...”
Den ordløse billedmontage tilkendegiver at Gilead i tidligere tid var USA, eftersom den viser:
Frihedsgudinden, Seagrambygningen, Det Hvide Hus, Lincoln Memorial monumentet, Wrigleybygningen i Chicago, Golden Gate Bridge, foruden jordskælv, ødelagte atomkraftværker, giftaffald, kampvogns- og geværild, helikoptere, døde kroppe, hængte personer, bevæbnede kontrolposter og Tanter, Kommandanter, Hustruer, Martha’er, Økonokoner, Øje-lastvogne.
Efter ca. et minut med denne hurtige billedmontage vises et billede af et sort flag med et hvidt Bevinget Øje i midten. Kameraet zoomer helt ind til det hvide i midten af Øjet. Den surrealistiske montage ender og vi kommer ind i en rolig, stilfærdig og afmålt verden. Kameraet zoomer tilbage, og det hvide er nu det hvide kors på omslaget af en stor, sort bibel. Kameraet zoomer ud fra bogen, og vi ser at biblen er i hænderne på professor Pieixoto.
I skærmens øverste, højre hjørne ses tid, dato og kanal: kl. 10, 25. dag, 6. måned, år 2195, kanal 105,237. Det forsvinder efter et par sekunder.
PIEIXOTO (åbner biblen ved et bogmærke og læser højt)
“Da Rakel så, at hun ikke fødte Jakob nogen børn, sagde hun til Jakob:
Giv mig sønner eller jeg dør.
Og Jakob sagde, er jeg i Guds Sted?
Det er jo Ham, der har nægtet dig livsfrugt.”
Og Rakel sagde:
Se til min tjenerinde, Bilha.
Gå ind til hende; hun skal føde på mit knæ, at jeg kan få sønner ved hende.”
(På skærmen ses i et kort øjeblik den ledsagende tekst “1. Mosebog, kapitel 30, vers 1-3”.)
(Pieixoto lukker biblen og smiler)
Idag skal De møde en Tjenerinde fra Gilead, meget forskellig fra hendes bibelske prototype i 1. Mosebog.
(Han peger på 30 kassettebånd på bordet foran ham)
Kassettebånd fra tiden før Gilead, fra det 20. århundrede.
(Han tager fire af dem op og læser titlerne.)
Madonna ... Lettiske folkesange ...
The Grateful Dead ... Twisted Sister at Carnegie Hall ...
Man kan finde dem på museer over hele verden.
Men for dem, der studerer Gilead, er disse 30 specielle, fordi vi formoder, de blev anvendt af en Tjenerinde, en Tjenerinde, der gik under jorden.
Hun har benyttet dem til at fortælle os sin historie, historien om sin – lidelseshistorie ...
(Han sætter et bånd i båndoptageren på bordet og kigger på os)
Se til vor Tjenerinde.
(Han trykker på ‘Play’-knappen på båndoptageren. Orkestret spiller partiturets indledende akkord. Vi hører Tilfreds stemme, der er forstærket. Hun er ved at optage sin dagbog efter sin flugt)
SYMPOSIUM EPILOGUE (2195 AD)
(Projected onto screen, as in the Prologue)
PIEIXOTO (switching off the recorder)
So ends our Handmaid’s Tale.
(He takes the cassette out of the recorder)
What happened to Offred after she recorded her tapes we do not know. Perhaps she escaped to Canada and freedom.
Perhaps she was recaptured, to end up in the Colonies or on the Wall.
Nor do we know the fate of the three men in her life – Luke and Nick and the Commander – though early death is probable.
The past is a great darkness filled with echoes. Voices reach us, but try as we may we cannot always decipher them precisely in the clearer light of our own day.
If you have any questions interact now.
The screen goes blank; there is a short burst of static, then blackout
SYMPOSIUM EPILOG (2195 e.Kr.)
(Vist på skærm, som i Prologen)
PIEIXOTO (slukker for båndoptageren)
Således ender vor Tjenerindes Fortælling.
(Han tager kassetten ud af båndoptageren)
Hvad der skete med TilFred, efter hun indtalte sine bånd, ved vi ikke.
Måske undslap hun til Canada og friheden.
Måske blev hun taget igen, for at ende i Kolonierne eller på Muren.
Ligeledes kender vi heller ikke den skæbne, der blev de tre mænd i hendes liv til del: Luke, Nick og Kommandanten. En tidlig død er dog sandsynlig.
Fortiden er et stort ekkofyldt mørke.
Vi hører stemmer, men selv om vi prøver, kan vi ikke dechifrere dem præcist til at passe til vor egen tids mere klare lys.
Hvis De har spørgsmål, så tryk Dem ind nu.
Skærmen slukkes; der er et kort udfald af statisk elektricitet, hvorefter skærmen går i sort
In Scene 12, THE RED CENTRE HALL, Guards sing text in Latin from The Book of Joshua, 1.2-5
English translation GUARDS
(Joshua 1.2-5)
Arise and cross over this Jordan, you and all the people with you, to the land which I shall give to the sons of Israel.
Every place the soles of your feet shall tread upon I shall give you, as I told Moses.
From the desert and Lebanon as far as the great river Euphrates, the whole country of the Hittites as far as the great sea where the sun sets, shall be your land.
No man will be able to withstand you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses so I shall be with you. I will neither fail nor forsake you.
I Scene 12, THE RED CENTRE HALL, synger Vagter en latinsk tekst fra Josva, 1.2-5
Dansk oversættelse VAGTER
(Josva, 1.2-5)
Gå nu over Jordan med hele dette folk til det land, jeg vil give israelitterne.
Hvert sted, hvor I sætter foden, giver jeg jer, sådan som jeg lovede Moses.
Landet fra Ørkenen til Libanon, fra den store flod Eufrat til Det Store Hav i vest, hele hittitternes land, skal være jeres.
Ingen vil kunne holde stand imod dig, så længe du lever. Ligesom jeg var med Moses, vil jeg være med dig; jeg lader dig ikke i stikken og svigter dig ikke.
A SUMMARY OF SYMMETRIES (by Paul Bentley)
ACT ONEACT TWO
1) THE WALL – DEATH BY HANGING1) NEXT MORNING – “DEATH BY HANGING” Offred looks at a dead bodyOffred’s body looks dead
2) THE HOUSE IN THE DAY – HER2) THE HOUSE AT NIGHT – HIM Offred and Serena Joy talk in her sitting roomOffred and the Commander talk in his study
3) OFFRED’S ROOM – ALONE3) JOY’S ROOM – WITH HER AND HIM Offred is alone,Offred is with Serena Joy and the Commander, memories of Luke making love to herhe starts “making love” to her
4) SHOPPING – MILK AND HONEY4) SHOPPING – SOUL SCROLLS
The Martha and Nick and OfglenThe Martha and Nick and Ofglen shopping for foodshopping for prayers pregnant Janine, model HandmaidOffred and Ofglen, rebel Handmaids
5) THE WALL – SAFETY5) THE WALL – DANGER Ofglen says “May day”Ofglen explains “May day” Offred does not understandEyes seize a man Ignorance is safetyKnowledge is danger
6) THE HOUSE IN THE DAY6) THE HOUSE AT NIGHT The Commander in Offred’s roomOffred in the Commander’s room she is tense – Nolite te bastardes carborundorum she is relaxed – Nolite te bastardes carborundorum
7) THE WALL – PRESCRIBED TALK7) THE WALL – PROSCRIBED TALK With OfglenWith Ofglen
8) THE DOCTOR’S OFFER8) THE WIFE’S OFFER
To make Offred pregnantTo get Nick to make Offred pregnant bribe – no Coloniesbribe – a photo of Offred’s daughter
A godly gathering of men and women prior to sexAn ungodly gathering of men and women prior to sex
11) LICIT SEX11) ILLICIT SEX
An official impregnation –An unofficial impregnation –Offred and Commander and WifeOffred and Commander (and Luke)
12) THE HOUSE AT NIGHT – DANGER12) THE HOUSE AT NIGHT – DANGER
Unlawfully, Offred tries to steal a keepsake from JoyUnlawfully, Joy shows Offred a photo of her daughter Nick comes to her – they kiss onceNick comes to her – they make love often Danger – they do not take chancesDanger – they take chances
13) THE BIRTH DAY13) THE DEATH DAY
Women celebrate life –Women celebrate death –they help Janine have a babythey help kill criminals
14) THE UNEXPECTED14) THE UNEXPECTED
Unlawfully, Offred meets the CommanderLawfully, Offred meets a new Ofglen who wants to break the rules –who wants to keep the rules –Joy knows nothingJoy knows all
15) RELEASE15) RELEASE
Offred’s tension is released by laughterOffred’s tension is released by escape
