Review: MADE IN INDIA, Soho Theatre

For Eva (Gina Isaac), Aditi (Ulrika Krishnamurti) and Dr Gupta (Syreeta Kumar), the desire to have a baby has three distinct meanings: the achievement of a lifetime, a way out of poverty, and capital. Set in a clinic in Gujarat, Western India, these women come to terms with the politics, economics, technology, and ethics of surrogate motherhood.

Though born out of playwright Satinder Kaur Chohan's passionate response to commercial surrogacy in India, the play doesn't succeed in making an unfamiliar story resonant for a wider audience.

Chohan places emotion against pragmatism from the beginning of her play, showing how such a sensitive situation as a widow's longing for a baby of her own is just a mere transaction to the doctor who can make it possible, while the "vessel" is a means to an end.

Although intense and morbid at times, the production doesn't have any particularly striking elements, and the performances are average and quite forced, especially at the beginning of the show.

Kumar and Krishnamurti's dispassionate responses weigh heavy, and Isaac - though generally a bundle of nerves throughout her portrayal - is only really relatable every so often. A general absence of chemistry and sentiment pervades the show, though the interesting and stimulating ideas suggest potential, if given another spin.

Katie Posner's production struggles to effectively handle an important subject and its complex themes - reflections on motherhood and surrogacy are rather vague and the drama lacks poignancy. The ending strives for bittersweet, but is forcefully inconclusive rather than fluid and effortless.

A missed opportunity to showcase a vital issue probably unknown to many.

Made In India runs at the Soho Theatre until 25 March.

Photo credit: Robert Day.

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