Hot Brown Honey.
Briefs factory. The Space Theatre. OzAsia Festival Adelaide Festival Centre. September 30. 2017
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
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| The cast of Hot Brown Honey. Photo by Dylan Evans |
I first saw Hot Brown
Honey at the Royal Croquet Club during the 2015 Adelaide Fringe. After
admiring the sheer verve and forceful vivacity of the performers and their
dedication to their strong social commentary, this is how I concluded the
review.
“Hot Brown Honey has the
potential to be a first class act. A firm directorial vision, and dedicated
practice to thread together the serious commentary of the women’s stories would
make this a show not to be missed. Its message is too important to be cast so
carelessly aside; the talents of the performers too precious to be given such
short thrift and disregard. Only then will an audience fully savour the real
power of the art and the message of Hot
Brown Honey. “
But that was then. And this is now. And WOW!!! Just look at these powerhouse women from the South Pacific seas. I am reminded of Kevin Carmody’s From Little Things Bog Things Grow” Here is a show that is loud and proud, slick, sassy, sexy and smart. Six strong, independent and powerful performers sing their songs of praise for feminism and condemnation of sexism. Expressive, expansive and effervescent, their performances act as a salute to their sex on a huge hive, flashing with lights and technical wizardry. After warming up their audience with tantalizing expectation and a raffle sale to afford their childcare the show begins and the Royal Croquet Club seems a world away. The show has morphed into a brilliantly costumed, sharply choreographed and massively confident assertion of their tribe.
Too long the drones of a male dominated society, each and
every one is now the queen bee of the social hive, buzzing with the song of
revolution and making noise. One of the performers stands high above the luminescent hive, inciting the audience to
echo the cry for independence. “When I say Love, you say Respect.”
Love!...Respect!!! The chants are magnetic, charismatic and passionate in their
recognition of rebellion and change.
The acts are familiar, but masterly executed with relishing
pride and power. A sunflower strip peels away the layers from their brown bee hive
patterned costumes to reveal at the final layer a maid’s costume. “You are not
the Maid!!” their queen bee cries. Satire sweeps its cutting scythe through the
show, slicing away at assumption and oppression. A Pacific Islander transforms
the shell to rise Botticelli like and adorned in her dance of transformation.
Circus acts become symbols of freeing oneself from entrapment and untruthful
stereotype, such as the hula hoop sequence, the , the microphone breath popping
assault on subjugation, the aerial struggle to be released from the customs
that bind women to their roles. It is moments like these and the dynamically
voiced and exuberantly danced routines
that boldly pronounce the spirit of empowerment.
In the tradition of Greek theatre, release from bondage is
celebrated with an audience clapping and cheering on their feet and enthusiastically
embracing the invitation to join the women in dance upon the Space Theatre
stage. Catharsis is complete and a
battle begun will surely be a battle won. The sweet taste of nectar of the Gods
excites the palate of change, brought about not only by this exhilarating show,
but also by the artists behind the scenes who saw the potential at the show’s
raw beginnings and guided it to its undisputed triumph and resonating call for
equality and freedom.
If you happen to have Hot
Brown Honey visit your city or return for an encore, don’t miss it.