''City Sugar'' is a stage play by Stephen Poliakoff. It was originally staged at the Bush Theatre in 1975 and directed by Hugh Thomas. ''City Sugar''’s cast was led by

John Shrapnel John Morley Shrapnel (27 April 1942 – 14 February 2020) was an English actor. He is known mainly for his stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre in the United Kingdom and for his many television appearances. ...

as Leonard Brazil and supported by

Leon Vitali Alfred Leon Vitali (26 July 1948 – 19 August 2022) was an English actor, best known for his collaborations with film director, Stanley Kubrick, as his personal assistant, and as an actor, most notably as Lord Bullingdon in ''Barry Lyndon''. ...

and Lynne Miller. In 1976 the play then transferred to the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

with

Adam Faith Terence Nelhams Wright (23 June 1940 – 8 March 2003), known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. A teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart with " What Do You Want?" (1959) and "P ...

taking over as Leonard Brazil and James Aubrey as Rex. ''City Sugar'', along with its companion piece ''Hitting Town'', won Poliakoff the ''Evening Standard'''s Most Promising Playwright Award in 1976. The play was widely performed in regional cities all over Britain, and was presented at the Phoenix Theatre in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

with

Jeff Goldblum Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films of his era, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and ''Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels. ...

in the lead role and was made into a successful ITV television play with

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...

playing the lead. ''City Sugar'' followed the story of the young waitress, Nicola, whom the audience first encountered in Poliakoff’s ''

Hitting Town ''Hitting Town'' is a stage play written by Stephen Poliakoff and first performed in April 1975 at the Bush Theatre directed by Tim Fywell. Written early in his career, the play won Poliakoff the ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Award for Most Promis ...

''.

Storyline

The story charts a week in the life of a DJ, Leonard Brazil, as he launches what he calls the competition of the century aimed directly at a youth audience. It is a promotional campaign designed to whip up excitement amongst the station's audience in preparation for a super-group's visit to the city. As Leonard runs the competition, he is tormented by self-loathing and takes out his anger on those around him. He singles out Nicola Davies, one of his listeners and engineers, and she came into the studio where he purposefully humiliated her.

Further Information

The TV production was made with Scottish TV and Film Enterprises for ITV. In the television version Nicola Davies was played by Veronica Quilligan and

plays the DJ Leonard Brazil. It was shot on film on location in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. ''City Sugar'' has been included as a suggested text in UK GCSE curriculum in drama. Hereford Plays published an edition of City Sugar in 1989 with scene-by-scene analysis, structured questions and assignment suggestions for GCSE. The play’s text is published by Bloomsbury and

Samuel French Samuel French (1821–1898) was an American entrepreneur who, together with British actor, playwright and theatrical manager Thomas Hailes Lacy, pioneered in the field of theatrical publishing and the licensing of plays. Biography French foun ...

References

{{reflist * Hurren, Kenneth (13 March 1976)
"Young Idea"
''The Spectator'' 1976 plays British plays