A young woman is missing. The prime suspect is an affluent member of the secretive Luminia organization. Enter Asha Ray, a deprogrammer who specializes in extracting people from dangerous cults. With no business card or office, Asha is known only by reputation-a last resort for desperate loved ones willing to work outside the law. Teaming up with retired detective Reuben Medina, she descends into a treacherous world of hidden motives and elite corruption. Together, Asha and Reuben must work to outsmart a powerful predator and uncover the truth before time runs out.
A razor-sharp, neon-noir thriller, Jeffery's contemporary crime drama is a cry for justice for women on the wrong side of a system built to protect the wealthy and powerful. This gritty, suspenseful play will keep you guessing until the very end.
• This play was developed in 2019 through Vertigo Theatre's national call for new works of mystery. Michaela didn't have any experience writing genre pieces, but had been a lifelong consumer of true crime content, pulpy investigation dramas like SVU and CSI, and anything that dealt with detectives on the BBC (Poirot, Ms. Marple, Broadchurch, Luther, Shetland, etc.).
• Real-world influences that informed aspects of this story was the rise and fall of the NXIVM cult and the complex stories of those involved and the popularity of alt-right pseudo-celebrities / self-help gurus / podcast hosts like Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan.
• Michaela makes custom, handmade Dungeons & Dragons dice.
• The Extractionist was first produced by Vertigo Theatre in Calgary from January 28 to February 26, 2023.
A young woman is missing. The prime suspect is an affluent member of the secretive Luminia organization. Enter Asha Ray, a deprogrammer who specializes in extracting people from dangerous cults. With no business card or office, Asha is known only by reputation-a last resort for desperate loved ones willing to work outside the law. Teaming up with retired detective Reuben Medina, she descends into a treacherous world of hidden motives and elite corruption. In this razor-sharp, neon-noir thriller, Asha and Reuben must work to outsmart a powerful predator and uncover the truth before time runs out.
"The plot unravels in a fascinating way, with several convoluted twists that really suck the reader in. There's a real cinematic feel to this script that makes it stand out above other stage scripts within this genre. Asha is a complex and compelling character who stays with the reader, long after they've finished the script."
"A tight compelling thriller with a strong female lead and a surprise ending! This play is ready for a stylish production."
"…from start to finish, [The Extractionist] had the audience on the edge of their seats…"
"Jeffery has a gift for writing natural-sounding dialogue […] The scenes sizzle because they seem so real […] The audience is like eavesdroppers in these people's lives…"
"[The Extractionist is] a stunning world premiere . . . The story is complicated, convoluted and thrilling . . . It's full tilt, at a sprint, the entire time. It's action, suspense and intrigue."
