"There's a hint of Margaret Atwood in Chauhan's fictional world, and a
great deal of the intractable issues that gnaw away at feminists." -
Guardian
"Chauhan playfully inverts the assumed power struggles in a polyandrous
society ...a satisfyingly intriguing premise and Chauhan's writing
builds up this odd situation so that our perspectives are constantly
shifting." - Time Out London
It's Aya's wedding day. Her third. Her current two husbands aren't too
fussed. In a society in which there are few women, that's just what
happens. But as the household prepares for the wedding feast, a stranger
arrives - one who threatens to challenge everything they believe in.
Against a backdrop of modern rural India, Sharmila Chauhan weaves an
extraordinary tale of love and wonder. From the preparation of luxury
food and the sacrifice of the lamb to the dressing of the bride and the
dance to end all dances, this will be an exuberant, joyful and
challenging piece of theatre.
"In parts of India, polyandry has become a necessity. Gendercide, as a
consequence of the ancient preference for boys, the modern desire for
smaller families and the increasing availability of ultrasound
techniques to detect the gender of a baby still in the womb means that
the number of females is declining. I wrote The Husbands both as a
response to this but also as an exploration of the complexity of love,
intimacy and trust between one woman and three men where gender
differences and expectations are amplified. In a sense this play is as
much a warning as an allegory for the fate of women in The West
today." - Sharmila Chauhan
Sharmila Chauchan's play Born Again/Purnajanam was performed at
Southwark Playhouse. A reading of When Spring Comes was performed in
association with the South Asian Lit Fest. Her play White Turns to
Grey is being developed with Angelic Tales (Rikki Beadle Blair and John
Gordon). The Husbands - a tale of polyandry and feminism - has been
commissioned by Kali and Pentabus Theatre for tour in 2014.
