Diversionary Theatre will present the United States premiere of Happy Endings Are Extra, a startling new play by Ashraf Johaardien, as the fourth show of their 2006-2007 season. While the play is part of the mainstage season, it also kicks off Diversionary’s new “Queer Theatre – Taking Center Stage” program, which is funded in part by The James Irvine Foundation.

Ashraf Johaardien

Johaardien, a South African playwright, has already established himself as an award-winning playwright, with four plays to his credit and his work has been produced in mainstream theatres and at festivals both locally and internationally. Thanks to the Irvine Foundation grant, he will be present at the opening in San Diego. The San Diego production will be directed by Rosina Reynolds. The cast features Michael Purvis, Claudio Raygoza and Anahid Shahrik.

Michael Purvis

Claudio Raygoza

Anahid Shahrik

Happy Endings Are Extra, a lyrical and sensual exploration of sexual identity, is set against the backdrop of Cape Town's unsleeping world of massage parlours, boys for rent and sex for cash. The play explores the relationship between Gabriel, a bisexual man, and Chantelle, his fiancee. Chantelle pretends to be unconcerned by Gabriel's sexual interests, but then he meets Chris, an underage rent-boy and falls in love with him. This mature, considered play deftly toys with its audience, allowing the viewer to be both compromised and affected by the desires and the sharp, confounding shifts in perspective and emotion that the play evokes. The play contains adult situations and nudity.

Ashraf Johaardien (ush-ruff joe-hard-deen) is an award-winning South African playwright. At the age of 32 he has five plays under his belt. He grew up in Cape Town but he now lives in Johannesburg where he is currently the General Manager of the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT).

The play was performed this past May at the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. A review in The Irish Times stated “With just the flick of it's title, Ashraf Johaardien's oh-so-clever script funnels a Cape Town subculture of open relationships and rent-boys through the hideous fatalism of Greek Tragedy.