Seen at Edinburgh Festival Fringe on the 6th of August 2022
4 stars – highly entertaining and insightful
When you see a play twice, you become more critical. You are more aware of the technical aspects, and the plot is no longer a surprise, nor the wits are. This evening, Mabel Thomas’s Sugar was more entertaining than last year.
Charismatic Mae recounts of her past self in funny situations, that underline her strong personality, her will to affirm herself. As early as sixteen, she starts becoming the ‘entrepreneur of herself’, with the secret aim of becoming richer than her classmates, even though people around her seem to be hindering her and affirming their own power. Women, for which she falls, don’t seem to be easing her way into a relationship, nor sexual life either.
When she enters the adult age, Mae discovers that some girls earn lots of money by just texting old men or having a meal out with them. The time-value balance is on her side, and she decides to try this way. It works, until she starts needing to say to herself that some things ‘are harder to justify to herself.’
This hilarious, beautifully written monologue tackles the issues related to the rape culture under the light of a naïve girl’s gaze, and it shows really well what part the possibility of ‘justification’ can play in certain circumstances, and how the sense of guilt is unevenly distributed.
Mabel Thomas has an intense presence on stage, and even though some technical details could be perfectioned, her character is strongly built. So, as per last year’s forecast, here’s a fourth star to her!
Aug 7-13, 15-20, 22-29; 19.05
Running time: 50 minutes
The Space @Surgeon’s Hall – Theatre 3
Tickets and Info: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/sugar
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SugarThePlay
Butterwort 
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