Going back to Gilead
TO mark the publication of Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments, the sequel to her classic bestseller The Handmaid’s Tale, a Q&A with the author on stage in London will be broadcast live to over 1,000 cinemas across the world.
The event – Margaret Atwood: Live In Cinemas – is on September 10 and includes screenings in a number of East Midlands cinemas.
She will be on the Lyttelton stage of the National Theatre where broadcaster and author Samira Ahmed will interview her about her career, her diverse range of works and why she has returned to her handmaid story, 34 years later.
She says: “I am delighted that the launch of Testaments will take place not only in London but also by live-streaming to cinemas around the world.
“I can’t be in all the places at once in my
The analogue body, but I look forward to being with so many readers via the big screen.’ The publication of Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale in 1985 and the current, Emmy Awardwinning television series have created a cultural phenomenon, as handmaids have become a symbol of women’s rights and a protest against misogyny and oppression.
The Testaments picks up the story 15 years after Offred stepped into the unknown, with the explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead. “Everything you’ve ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book,” she says. “Well, almost everything. The other inspiration is the world we’ve been living in.” The Testaments will be published by Chatto & Windus on September 10.
Find the nearest cinema screening the event at margaretatwoodlive.com.