Melbourne Reviews

Love is a dangerous game – it’s also an expensive hobby. In the case of a sugar daddy, those risks rise exponentially. But what of the sugar baby? Where do they fit in? In what part of society do they exist? In Tomáš Kantor’s one-person show Sugar, they pull at the strings of conventional romance to achieve a performance that is as camp and over the top as it is emotionally resonant. Inspired loosely by the plot of the 1991 cinematic masterpiece, Pretty Woman, Kantor lives out their dream role of the sex worker with a heart of gold as portrayed by Julia Roberts (who amongst us hasn’t?) with all the queer-coded sexiness and sassiness of Gen Z.

While the role of Vivian remains permanently etched in the zeitgeist, Kantor’s update takes her into a new era, twerking, werking and even humping a cello (their words, not mine) with finesse. A strong physical performer and multidisciplinary artist (we’re talking singer, actor, dancer, comedian and accomplished musician on multiple instruments!), the story could get lost in the razzle-dazzle of Kantor’s talent, but their ability to engage with the crowd in interesting ways keeps the dynamic between artist and audience conversational and authentic.

Taking inspiration from pop icons Lady Gaga, Chappell Roan and Dua Lipa, Kantor struts, sings and moves between cello, piano and ukulele to a banging soundtrack of pop hits that soar through the Arts Centre's new(ish) Show Room, which acts as a perfect venue for the intimate cabaret.

Moving with just as much ease between the butch mining executive Richard and the saccharine Sugar, the most powerful moments in the production are when they can be Tom. More than a character, fiction and reality intertwine in Kantor’s performance that purposefully blurs the binary.

Written by Ro Bright and directed by Kitan Petkovski, with musical direction and arrangements by Rachel Lewindon, Sugar premiered in 2024 at the Melbourne Fringe Festival and has been on tour ever since.

A part of the Midsumma Festival, Sugar is a thoughtful production that reminds us that fairytales can be bought and paid for, just as much as they can be self-made.