Synopsis

A sun-drenched Jamaican beach, where desire and deception dance as intimately as the waves lapping at the shore

Kitty, a middle-aged British teacher, arrives in Jamaica seeking sun, sand, and the passionate embrace of a younger man. She finds it in Sly, a smooth-talking local who knows exactly how to make her feel desired. Meanwhile, Yolanda, an American regular to the island, rekindles her affair with Reee, a aging Rastafarian beach hustler hiding secrets beneath his dreadlocks. As these relationships unfold, Naomi, a young mixed-race woman, searches for her Jamaican father, unknowingly drawing closer to a truth that will shake the fragile ecosystem of the beach.

Tanika Gupta’s Sugar Mummies is a searing exploration of sex tourism, power dynamics, and the lingering spectre of colonialism in paradise. Through sharp dialogue and complex characterizations, Gupta challenges notions of exploitation, examining how need, desire, and economic reality blur the lines between predator and prey. The play’s structure, moving fluidly between encounters on the beach, creates a vivid tapestry of intersecting lives and motivations. As the British and American women grapple with aging and loneliness, and the Jamaican men navigate poverty and limited options, Sugar Mummies asks uncomfortable questions about who truly holds power in these transactional relationships, and at what cost to both parties’ humanity?