Anna Burnside reviews a production ‘with much to enjoy’.
Sugar, a twinkly eyed, non-binary theatre student, seeks a benefactor to help fund their studies. With nothing more factual than Julia Roberts’ performance in Pretty Woman to guide them, Sugar posts their profile to every site in the daddyverse.
With its diva-heavy soundtrack and sweet lo-fi props and costumes, there is much to enjoy in this story-driven cabaret. Tomas Kantor is a huge talent with charisma bursting out of his Noddy Holderesque boots.
But—and it’s a big but—the show is based on a 1990 fairytale movie that has aged like fish. The update is that the 21st century Richard does not like Sugar in their Julia Roberts’ wig. When they try to buy a diaphanous dress on their transformational shopping spree, Richard disappears.
The music, especially the closing torch song version of Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck Babe’, is delicious. There are lots of twerking and strong comic sequences featuring Richard, played by a vertically challenged male sex doll and, at one point, a cello.
But any analysis of the dynamics of a transactional sexual relationship set against the background of changing gender roles? This bit is notable by its absence, and the show is all the thinner for it.
Sugar is at Assembly Checkpoint at 1620 (not the 12th or 18th) until August 24, 2025.
Photo by Meagan Harding.
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