The first ever broadcast dramatisation of Ursula Le Guin’s seminal science fiction novel.

With an alien globe in the middle of an Ice Age, one man prepares for the biggest objective of his life. Alone and unarmed, Genly Ai has been sent from Earth to persuade the folks of Gethen to join the Ekumen, a union of planets. But it’s a task fraught with danger.

Genly is shocking to the natives, for Gethen is a global where humans are ambigendered – everyone can be a mom, and everyone can be a about The Left Hands of Darkness: BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation dad. Initial Minister Estraven is the only person who champions Genly’s cause, but their romantic relationship can be deeply incomprehensible and troubling.

As the duo go on a journey that will take them towards the edge of their physical and emotional endurance, the stakes are high – to save a global from war, and save their own lives.

Ursula Le Guin’s award-winning masterpiece was among the initial feminist SF novels, which compelling dramatisation is both a subtle exploration of gender and a thrilling tale of like, betrayal and survival in a panorama of endless snow and snow. It stars Lesley Sharp (Scott & Bailey), Toby Jones (Dad’s Army) and Louise Brealey (Sherlock).. Duration: 2 hours approx.