Mohsin Zaidi Brings THE SURROGATE To Crow's Theatre

Directed by Crow's Theatre's Associate Artistic Director Christopher Manousos, THE SURROGATE is a gripping debut drama that explodes notions of contemporary parenthood, exploring privilege and the complexities of modern family-making, and featuring Fuad Ahmed (Late Bloomer/Crave, Beeba Boys), Thom Nyhuus (Devil In Disguise/Peacock), Sarena Parmar (The Orchard(After Chekhov/Shaw), Antonette Rudder (Wedding Band, Romeo & Juliet/Stratford), and Siddharth Sharma (Late Bloomer/Crave).

Unravelling with the tension of a high-stakes television hospital drama, THE SURROGATE introduces Jake and Sameer, a successful gay couple who have spent years preparing for the birth of their first child. But when Marya, their surrogate, is admitted to the hospital with complications, legal, ethical, and deeply personal battles emerge—forcing the couple to confront questions they never expected: Who gets to decide what makes a family? And at what cost? Set over the course of a single sleepless night, THE SURROGATE is a 21st-century exploration of modern family-making, examining the emotional complexities that arise when love, power, and responsibility intersect, inviting audiences into a compassionate and searching conversation about how families are made in a world where the rules are still being written.

“While heartfelt and often comedic, this play is fundamentally about a group of people doing their best in a high-pressure situation, forced to make immediate decisions that will shape the rest of their lives,” Manousos comments. “Each character struggles to protect themselves and their families while also trying to be good people—two goals that don't always align. What Mohsin does brilliantly in this play is present the debate from every angle, offering a full 360-degree exploration of both the progressive and unprogressive sides of each character's choices. My hope is that audiences will leave thoroughly entertained—and completely unsure whose side to take.”

“We're living in a time in when hard-won human rights gains have been overturned more easily than we ever imaged possible–the assumption that freedom naturally progresses over time has been fundamentally undermined,” adds Crow's Theatre Artistic Director Chris Abraham. “What I love about this play is that it isn't a Twitter fight – all the characters are very real, with embodied values that are inherently at odds with each other. While exploring the fault lines of liberal democracy, this story lives deeply in the gray areas, which makes it endlessly compelling.”

Mohsin Zaidi is a New York based lawyer, award-winning author, commentator, speaker, and global advocate for LGTBQ+ rights. His critically acclaimed memoir, A Dutiful Boy (Penguin, 2020) won the American Lambda Literary Award and the British Polari First Book Prize. It was also named a Guardian, GQ, New Statesman and Attitude Book of the Year. He also writes for The New York Times, the Guardian, GQ, CNN Style, The i Newspaper, Bustle, Mr Porter and Newsweek. Educated at Oxford, Zaidi qualified as a lawyer at international firm Linklaters and then became a criminal barrister at one of the top chambers in England. He has also previously worked at a UN War Crimes tribunal in The Hague and clerked at the UK Supreme Court for Lord Sumption and Lord Wilson.  
 
The creative team for THE SURROGATE is completed by set designer Scott Penner, lighting designer Chris Malkowski, sound designer Maddie Bautista, Costume Designer Andrew Broderick, stage manager Nazerah Carlisle, intimacy director Cara Rebecca, and dialect coach Chloë Dirksen.
 
THE SURROGATE runs February 24th to March 22nd in the Streetcar Crowsnest Studio Theatre with performances Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00pm and Saturday and Sundays at 2:00pm.