Handmaids are disappointing

In 2005, the United States becomes the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian Christian theocracy. Many couples have been rendered childless by radiation poisoning, so women who have committed any sort of sexual transgression in their past are forcibly trained to be brood mares.

These 'handmaids' are denied the right to read, write and own property. But there's one, Offred, who attempts to fight the system.

It sounds like a great premise for an opera, right? Wrong. Librettist Paul Bentley barely characterises Offred (Stephanie Marshall); her presence feels like a mere device to link scenes which endlessly repeat what was established in the first five minutes - that Gilead is repressive.

There's not much plot, the other characters are even less developed than Offred, and there's not a note of complexity in any of the relationships.

One character, Aunt Lydia (Helen Field), even preaches long chunks of Gileadean dogma straight to the audience through a megaphone: dramatically, the thermostat here is on zero. Poul Ruders's music sounds like that of a wannabe tonal composer writing academic atonalism; the gear changes are clunky and unconvincing.

Many scenes are short, and director Phyllida Lloyd attempts to solve the problem with furniture that whizzes on and off on castors. It looks both awkward and like a rally of shopping trolleys.

The Handmaid's Tale