When Tomas Kantor took his solo show Sugar to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year, he hit the streets of the Scottish capital – as spruiking was the way to promote it.
Described as “theatrical, outrageous, silly and sexy”, the Melbourne performer’s award-winning show is about Sugar – a gender-queer twink who discovers there’s money to be made from transactional relationships (though, their primary source of information is Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman).
What could go wrong? Australian superstar-in-the-making Kantor sings everything from Kylie to Lady Gaga to Chappell Roan in this show – about luxury, power and being paid to have sex on a grand piano – written by Fringe First Award-winning playwright Ro Bright and directed by Kitan Petkovski.
It has been suggested that Kantor is the next Meow Meow or Paul Capsis. Sugar was a hit in Australia before Edinburgh and it’s heading to Brisbane as part of this year’s Melt Festival, with shows at Brisbane Powerhouse on October 31 and November 1.
Kantor is happy with comparisons to both the aforementioned artists. “And Meow Meow has been a mentor to me,” Kantor says.
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a party mix of pop hits, sexual politics and emotional vulnerability colliding in the most deliciously chaotic way
At age 30 Kantor is finding their feet, with a debut solo show, and is right where they want to be after years of preparation. Kantor is a multidisciplinary artist who has performed with Bell Shakespeare and other national companies, along with Meow Meow’s Pandemonium.
This performer is reserved and quietly spoken over the phone, unlike Sugar who is pretty well out there in a show that demonstrates, among other things, Kantor’s singing talent.
Sugar is described as a party mix of pop hits, sexual politics and emotional vulnerability colliding in the most deliciously chaotic way with that contemporary soundtrack.
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Kantor is very much on a career trajectory, even if Sugar is not.
“But if I go off the rails I would do it like that,” Kantor say, happy to be immersed in that character and a number of others in this show.
Kantor did musicals and plays at school but it was a seven-week intensive program at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art that changed the performer’s perspective and focussed them on a career on stage.
“My father Michael Kantor is a theatre director, so it’s in the blood,” Kantor says. “I grew up around some incredible performers. I was this kid in the wings running amok.”
Now Kantor is centre stage, running amok and loving it. Audiences are loving it too since Kantor launched the show at last year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival. Then it was a hit at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
While Kantor admits the show is in the great cabaret tradition, it is a new-wave style of cabaret. Still, Kantor appreciates the Weimar Republic roots of the genre and an unfulfilled aspiration is to play the MC in Cabaret. One feels sure that will happen one day but, in the meantime, Kantor is looking forward to Melt Festival in Brisbane.
Melt Festival – Brisbane’s boldest celebration of LGBTQIA+ art, identity and pride – returns to venues across the city from October 22 to November 9. Featuring hundreds of performances and events at more than 60 venues across 18 days, Melt will again see Australia’s LGBTQIA+ community and allies come together to revel in inclusivity, community, diversity and creativity as the city sings with pageants, parades and protest, musical theatre, comedy, a monumental choral installation, burlesque, visual arts, theatre and more.
The headline act this year is iconic star of stage and screen, Bernadette Peters, who will perform a selection of her favourites, for one night only and exclusively for Melt. Set to be Peters’ first Australian performance in more than a decade, and a major cultural moment for theatre and music lovers alike, An Evening With Bernadette Peters will hit the Brisbane Convention Centre on October 24.
After making a spectacular splash in 2024, the Brisbane River will again flow rainbow as River Pride Parade returns on November 8 with an even more fabulous flotilla from West End to Brisbane Powerhouse. No boat? Jump aboard The Pride Ride or join the free, family-friendly River Pride Picnic at New Farm Park, complete with food trucks, live music and rainbow.
Melt executive producer Emmie Paranthoiene says this next chapter of Melt “turns the volume up on Queer joy, protest and pride”.
“We’re celebrating the full spectrum of LGBTQIA+ voices, from bold new talent to iconic artists who continue to break boundaries with this diverse program. Melt is a love letter to our community and everyone’s invited to the party.”