THE Husbands, which comes to Ludlow Assembly Rooms on Friday, March 7, is a provocative new play about love, jealousy and a woman’s right to choose. A co-production between award-winning Kali Theatre and Shropshire’s Pentabus Theatre, The Husbands starts on Aya’s wedding day. Her third. 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 often seen a drain on precious family resources whereas sons are seen as valuable assets, meaning some female babies are aborted or killed soon after birth. Because of the resulting gender imbalance, it has become increasingly common for two or more men to share a wife.

In The Husbands, Sharmila Chauhan imagines a society where this has become the norm, weaving a moving tale of love, jealousy and power using vivid, poetic language to show this extraordinary but believable new world.

“In parts of India, polyandry has become a necessity," says Sharmila, who was shortlisted for the Asian New Writer award. "I wrote The Husbands both as a response to this but also as an exploration of the complexities of love, intimacy and trust between one woman and three men.

“According to recent press reports, sex-selective abortions are being carried out in the UK today. In a sense this play is as much a warning as an allegory for the fate of women in the west today.”

The Husbands is directed by Janet Steel, artistic director of Kali Theatre Company , and creative associate is Elizabeth Freestone, artistic director of Pentabus Theatre Company.

In celebration of International Women's Day there will be a special pre-show chat from 6.45pm in the auditorium with Sharmila Chauhan and Elizabeth Freestone.

The Husbands will be at Ludlow Assembly Rooms on Friday, March 7 at 7.30pm. To book, call the box office on 01584 878141 or visit ludlowassemblyrooms.co.uk.