Kali Theatre and Pentabus Theatre present “THE HUSBANDS”
Kali Theatre and Pentabus Theatre
THE HUSBANDS
At Curve’s Studio from 25 February – 1 March award winning Kali Theatre and Pentabus Theatre present The Husbands, a provocative new play about love, jealousy and a woman’s right to choose.
It starts on 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…
The Husbands is an imaginative response to the real issue of female infanticide that has become widespread in rural India. Girls are seen a drain on precious family resources whereas sons are seen as valuable assets so girl babies are routinely aborted or quietly killed soon after birth. The result is a serious lack of young women and in some villages it’s becoming increasingly common for two men or more to share one wife. Writer Sharmila Chauhan imagines a society where this has become the norm and then weaves a moving tale of love, jealousy and power using vivid, poetic language to show this extraordinary but believable new world.
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.
Sharmila Chauhan was shortlisted for the Asian New Writer award and chosen for the Royal Court’s Critical Mass programme. Her short stories have been published online and in print, including Tell Tales Vol 2 and Happy Birthday to Me.
The Husbands is directed by Janet Steel, Artistic Director of Kali and Elizabeth Freestone Artistic Director of Pentabus. Janet Steel has directed over 30 readings of new work and 11 productions for Kali. After many years as an actress, Janet began directing in 1988 at Loose Change Theatre. Other directing credits include Behzti (The Rep), April in Paris, Bretevski Street, A Hard Rain, Top Girls (Northampton Royal), Millennium Mysteries, Big School (Belgrade Coventry).
Elizabeth Freestone has directed The Duchess of Malfi, Volpone, The School for Scandal, Dr Faustus (Greenwich), Romeo and Juliet (Globe tour), Here Lies Mary Spindler (RSC/Latitude), The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes (RSC/Wilton’s) and her adaptation of The Rape of Lucrece (RSC) premiered at the Edinburgh Festival last summer.
For tickets or more information visit www.curveonline.co.uk