Black Honey Company has won a Helpmann Award in Australia for its show Hot Brown Honey. The show, which is currently touring internationally, has won critical acclaim for its use of cabaret as a political statement.
Hot Brown Honey sees six performers use cabaret techniques like striptease, acrobatics and spoken word to highlight issues around female oppression, domestic violence and racism; UK theatre maker Bryonny Kimmings called it a “mighty sucker punch to the things you thought theatre was capable of.”
Helpmann Awards recognise the best in Australian performing arts across musical theatre, contemporary music, comedy, cabaret, regional touring, presentations for children, opera, classical music, theatre, dance and physical theatre. Black Honey Company won in the cabaret category.
Adelaide Fringe director and CEO Heather Croall, who originally commissioned the show, said: “We’re so proud to support exciting and daring work in the early stages of development, and it’s encouraging to see so many of our Artist Fund recipients going on to scale new heights. Hot Brown Honey is a great success story for the fund and we hope it inspires more artists to apply for grants.”
Hot Brown Honey will open at Edinburgh Festival Fringe on 2 August. The show also has dates in Manchester (HOME theatre) and Hull (as part of the UK City of Culture programme).