Hot Brown Honey is a group of energetic brown women performing a very loud electronic burlesque cabaret dance show quite unlike anything else, opening with fans made of feathers and old LP records, hamming up the kitschiest, most alarming, and naffest images of black and brown women, including the voodoo priestess, the witch, the sultry siren, the maid, and the dusky maiden.
Hot Brown Honey delivers music, spoken word, hip hop, some nifty beatboxing (by Hope Haami), poetry, hula hooping, aerial performance and lots of high-octane dancing, all in one show, challenging notions of women in service to patriarchy and racism.
The subversive images here are funny and thought-provoking; a personal favourite was the ‘Australiana’ ballerina who morphed into an indigenous dancer. It made for a wonderful juxtaposition and a statement that speaks volumes.
An early voice-over from a documentary reveals patronizing attitudes that haven’t quite died out, and a Polynesian basket weaver (the sublime Lisa Fa’alafi) hilariously produces shoes and a handbag from a pile of leaves.
Busty Beatz (who co-devised Hot Brown Honey with Fa’alafi) leads the march, performing from on high as DJ supremo above a honeycomb construction with its own lightshow. She dons a massive afro wig for The Don’t Touch My Hair segment, commanding the audience at various times to stand up. Costumes are sensational. The whole show is an episode of manic, attitude-driven fun.
BY LIZA DEZFOULI
