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No Sugar

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No Sugar
Today, in the 20th Century, it is a commonly known fact in Australia, and throughout the rest of the world, that Aborigines were mistreated from since western culture first settled, and for many years after that. It is the main purpose of stage dramas to bring issues, such as the one mentioned above, and ideas about these issues to life through dramatic performances and the use of a number of various techniques. No Sugar, a revisionist text written by Jack Davis in 1985, is one of these stage dramas. Jack Davis brings issues and even expresses his own ideas about issues such as the injustices of Aboriginal treatment during the 1930's, to life in No Sugar very well because No Sugar is a revisionist text, and therefore offers a new perspective …show more content…
This happened a lot in Australia in relation to Aborigines, with their women being forced to have intercourse with white men, and their children being taken away and murdered, so as to eliminate their colour and to abolish all traces of their culture. Davis evidently believes that assimilation does not work, and at its worst causes hopelessness, confusion, and loss of identity. An example of this is the destruction of Billy's tribe, and the way that, although they were, in one way or another, assimilated into white society, their culture still lives on. This is shown when Billy, Bluey, Jimmy and Sam were still singing and dancing like they used to before they were assimilated into white …show more content…
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NEAL: [To the whites] Ah! He's only fainted.
Act IV. Sc. (v). Page 99.

Davis again uses dialogue and also movement on stage to dramatically bring issues like this to life. Even after the desperation for help in Mary's voice, Neal still tried to pass Jimmy's heart failure off as a faint. This will make almost all readers of the text hate the way Neal has treated the Aborigines, and even though most aren't Aboriginal, they would still be worried about if the man that they put trust in, and brought to power would just disregard them like that.

An important issue explored by Jack Davis in No Sugar is the segregation of whites and Aborigines. This is displayed at various points throughout the text, but Davis showed his opinion on it towards the end at the Australia Day celebrations, where whites are on a podium, and the Aborigines on the floor.

Moore River Native Settlement, Australia Day, 1934, a very hot afternoon. MR NEVILLE, MR NEAL and MATRON are seated on a dais.
Act IV. Sc. (v) Page
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