Packed with pop covers and consensual audience lap dances, Tomáš Kantor expertly balances campy comedy with an important commentary on identity and self-acceptance in Sugar, a one-person cabaret about an emotionally turbulent relationship with a wealthy older man.
Sugar may be Kantor’s debut, but it feels nothing like a first. They own the stage from the outset, confident and charismatic in adidas track pants and platform boots. Counselled by their roommate Alejandro, reminiscent of Hank Azaria’s Agador in The Birdcage, and their Kiwi best friend Vivienne, Kantor brings to life “Sugar”, their sugarbaby alias. They soon meet Richard, a seemingly perfect sugar daddy. Kantor is an outstanding physical comedian, able even to conjure up chemistry with a blow-up doll. But the Pretty Woman fantasy comes crashing down when it becomes clear that Richard is uncomfortable with Sugar’s genderqueer identity. The show effectively portrays how insidious transphobia can be: Richard at first seemingly casually requests that Sugar remove their wig, and eventually ghosts them entirely after seeing them in a dress. Even when touching on these deeper emotional notes, Sugar holds onto its humour, and skilfully weaves in its important commentary on the tension between visibility and vulnerability.
Kantor’s vocals shine throughout; the closing number is a moving rendition of ‘Good Luck Babe’. Their covers are well selected and deviously rewritten. Yet they are not only vocally talented. They undertake a jazzy cello rendition of Charli XCX’s ‘Guess’, and later attempt tremolo, a technique that produces a gritty, scrubbing sound. Inspired by “that twink Jacob Collier”’s shows, Kantor even conducts the audience in a choral accompaniment to his intercourse with Richard. Some of the jokes are perhaps a little clichéd, and Kantor’s bold, sexually charged humour may take a moment to get used to, but as they remind the audience at the end of the show, there is nothing wrong with a “basic bitch chick flick.” This may be Kantor’s own description of Sugar, but audiences will leave knowing it is more than that: a celebration of queer strength and identity.
Sugar is running until 24 August at Checkpoint at Assembly Checkpoint.
Buy tickets here.
Image courtesy of James Reiser, provided to The Student as press material.
