SATINDER Chohan explores the global and personal implications of India’s surrogacy industry in Made In India, her new play about motherhood and blood ties between women and nations, staged by Tamasha and the Belgrade Theatre in association with York company Pilot Theatre.

Performed at the York Theatre Royal Studio tonight and tomorrow, the play's setting is a surrogacy clinic in Gujarat, where three women meet. For Londoner Eva (played by Gina Isaac), this is the last chance for motherhood. For village girl Aditi (Ulrika Krishnamurti), dairy worker and single mother, surrogacy is a lifeline out of poverty; a chance to give her own daughters a better chance in life. For clinic owner and businesswoman Dr Gupta (Syreeta Kumar), it represents just another transaction, but against the backdrop of profound global forces, can it possibly remain that simple?

India has been regarded as the world’s "surrogacy hub", one of a handful of countries legally offering commercial surrogacy to parents internationally. Although the industry was not fully regulated, it was was estimated to be worth more than £1.5million, with surrogate mothers said to be able to earn up to £6,000. During 2016, however, a change to the law was drafted so that surrogacy would become legal only to heterosexual Indian couples married for five years.

"I felt compelled to write a play with surrogacy at its heart as it's such a controversial subject loaded with conflicting emotion, culture and politics," says Satinder. "I felt connected to the subject as, with my Indian village roots, the Indian women acting as surrogates that I had read about in news stories could be any number of my female relatives or indeed myself if my parents had taken a different path in life.

"At the same time, I wanted to explore the wider global issue of which surrogacy is a part: the 'commodification of everything’ in a time when morals are easily sacrificed for financial markets and how we, as privileged Westerners and consumers, rely on workers all over the world to provide the material stuff of our lives."

Made In India is directed by Pilot Theatre associate director Katie Posner, who says: "Tamasha called me up as they'd seen my work and asked if I was interested in meeting up with Satinder, so I did and pitched for the job and was chosen.

"Satinder, who's from Southwell, had done a few plays before but this is her biggest one yet and she's now been nominated for the Most Promising Playwright in the Off West End Awards, while Ulrika has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Satinder has loads of potential, and in uncertain times like these, plays like this couldn't be more relevant.

"Made In India is a very much about consumerism and colonialism; it feels a very big play and yet it's only an hour and 20 minutes long."

Made in India, York Theatre Royal Studio, April 7 and 8, 7.45pm. Box office: yorktheatreroyal.co.uk or on 01904 623568.