The price of getting 'a passport to opportunity' Ismail Mahomed’s Cheaper than Roses

Abstract

The Indian Muslim playwright, director, and producer Ismail Mahomed (1959- )is considered one of the prominent Post-Apartheid playwrights in South Africa. His theatre, which he prefers to be labeled as 'issue theatre' is profound. Topics that Mahomed's theatre tackle vary to cover debatable issues both in South Africa and worldwide; they range to include, race, gender, identity, and most importantly, subjects that are closely related to women sufferings within their communities. In his solo play Cheaper Than Roses, Mahomed sheds light on abundant themes which are all a result of the reclassification period in South Africa that lasted for over four decades. The paper aims at investigating the moral and materialistic value systems that the brutal practices of Apartheid tried to destroy. Thus the paper is intended to thoroughly examine the consequences of the individual decisions, the past and new race layers, forgiveness and reconciliation, and the family integration and disintegration in order to bring up what have the South Africans, especially women, lost due to the most devastating segregation system in the twentieth century.