Tipping the Velvet (2002)

2000s

Aug. 22

Rachael Stirling and Keeley Hawes star in the 2002 BBC adaptation of lesbian author Sarah Waters’ 1998 critically acclaimed novel “Tipping the Velvet”.

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TIPPING THE VELVET

2002. UK.

Director: Geoffrey Sax

Screenplay: Andrew Davies

Based on: Tipping the Velvet (1998) by Sarah Waters

Starring: Rachael Stirling, Keeley Hawes, Anna Chancellor, Jodhi May, Sally Hawkins & Hugh Boneville

Described on the DVD as “An unconventional Victorian’s odyssey of self-discovery and love,” TIPPING THE VELVET follows Nan, an oyster restaurant worker whose life is forever changed after seeing a male impersonator on stage for the first time. She goes back every night to see Kitty Butler’s performance and is eventually invited backstage to meet the actress. The two become friends, then co-workers and eventually lovers. Heartbreak separates the two after a move to London, and Nan begins to build a life there on her own.

In a 2018 article from The Guardian, Waters stated that, “in 2002, the novel was adapted by Andrew Davies for the BBC, the story was sold to viewers, and promoted by tabloid newspapers, largely on its titillation value. But the fact that it had been adapted in the first place was a sign of how things were shifting, and Tipping’s 20-year career has coincided almost exactly with enormous changes in the lives of British lesbian and gay people, who now have equal rights with heterosexuals as partners, parents and employees, and enjoy a mainstream cultural presence I wouldn’t have believed possible back in 1998.”

Waters began writing the story in 1995 while working on her PHD. It was published in 1998 and was popular with both gay and, surprisingly, straight readers. In 2002, Waters released “Fingersmith,” another popular novel featuring a lesbian protagonist, which later received two film adaptations – a 2005 mini-series, and also a 2016 South Korean film titled THE HANDMAIDEN. Both of Waters’ novels were also adapted for the stage.