No Sugar Themes

The Millimurra-Munday family, the Indigenous (or Aboriginal) Australian protagonists of No Sugar, are forced to endure racism daily, both personally and institutionally. They are taken advantage of and abused, forced to accept unequal treatment and invasive government control simply because white Australians have political and social power, and they themselves are not white. Davis clearly illustrates the impact that racism can have on the lives of minorities, but he also takes a broader view…

Throughout No Sugar, the white civil servants who control the lives of the Aboriginal Australians constantly justify their authority and their actions by claiming that they are merely helping to civilize the Aboriginals and bring them into the twentieth century. For these white men and women, most notably Matron Neal, Mr. Neville, and Mr. Neal, religion and so-called civilization are tools of control and oppression, which they can use to disenfranchise…

In No Sugar, both white and Aboriginal Australians use language to reinforce their own racial and cultural identities. Although all of the characters in the play predominantly speak English, the Millimurra-Munday family peppers their speech with Nyoongah, an Aboriginal language. When reading the play, readers can turn to the glossary for definitions of over one hundred words and phrases. However, for those watching the play, the frequent Nyoongah vocabulary is likely unfamiliar and…