Young Stars of Hulu's The Testaments Say Dystopian Tale Remains Timely Today
Scottish actress Lucy Halliday and American co-star Chase Infiniti recently opened up about their experiences filming the highly anticipated Hulu series The Testaments, based on Margaret Atwood's 2019 dystopian novel. In a joint interview, they emphasized how the show's themes of oppression and misogyny continue to resonate in contemporary society, suggesting that humanity has not fully learned from historical patterns of control and fear.
Maintaining Character Amidst On-Set Pranks
Halliday, who plays Daisy—a Canadian teenager navigating a severe preparatory school for future wives in the oppressive theocratic society of Gilead—faced unique challenges on the Canadian set. Her role required maintaining a believable Canadian accent throughout the series, a task she approached with dedication despite playful attempts by her co-stars to throw her off.
"Some people took liberty trying to throw me off... I'm not naming names," Halliday said with a laugh, her Scottish brogue evident during the conversation. Infiniti quickly admitted, "I'm 'some people' by the way." Growing up in Scotland, Halliday had practiced fake accents at home, mainly to annoy her mother, which gave her a natural foundation. However, she still took great pains to perfect the Canadian dialect for her role.
Finding Levity in a Dark Narrative
The Testaments serves as both an adaptation of Atwood's sequel to The Handmaid's Tale and a follow-up to the television version that ran for six seasons. The series delves into a society controlled by fear and misogyny, where characters witness violence, betrayal, torture, and public hangings. Despite the heavy subject matter, the ensemble cast—including Mattea Conforti from NOS4A2 and Rowan Blanchard of Poker Face—managed to foster a sense of camaraderie and humor on set.
"Our entire cast and crew, I tell you, we were having the most fun," Infiniti shared. "We were so close, especially the days it was all girls. You could feel the energy of just being a girl. It was almost like it was high school in the best possible way. So if you did have a really difficult day, they were there to catch you and support you."
Halliday echoed this sentiment, noting that the offset of levity was crucial for well-being during filming. "It really benefits your well-being when it comes to filming these scenes because you can separate yourself from fiction to reality," she explained. "You allow yourself to transition seamlessly between the two because you've got this base and the trust in the people around you."
Plot Details and Character Arcs
Disney+ publicists have provided a detailed list of plot points to avoid revealing in preview stories, but the main narrative centers on teenage girls at a school overseen by Aunt Lydia, a character from the original novel and series. Infiniti's character, Agnes, is a relatively privileged teen at the school, belonging to a group called "Plums"—girls aged 12 to 14 awaiting transition to "Greens," who are fertile and preparing to be paired with commanders to become wives and mothers.
Born into Gilead, Agnes initially knows no other world, but her character evolves as she begins to see the vicious side of the system. The series explores themes of individuality, spirit, and resistance in a society that seeks to suppress them, making it a poignant reflection on contemporary issues of power and control.
The Testaments begins streaming on Disney+ on April 8, offering viewers a timely and thought-provoking look into a dystopian world that, according to its young stars, holds a mirror to our own societal challenges.
