HIVE CITY LEGACY
NAARM CHAPTER
23 - 27 April 2025 | Arts Centre Melbourne
In a high-energy explosion of Joyous Rage and Radical Fierce Love through genre-defying performance, Hive City Legacy - Naarm Chapter is set to ignite the stage with an electrifying collective roar. Through the act of decolonising one stage at a time, this brand-new work is a vibrant collision of theatre, movement, poetry, music, comedy and circus - a collective love letter to honour those who came before us and empower those still fighting for visibility, justice and representation.
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Created by the critically acclaimed, award-winning Hot Brown Honey (Helpmann, Green Rooms, UK Total Theatre Award) and in collaboration with seven fierce BIPOC Femme artists, Hive City Legacy – Naarm Chapter has been developed through an intensive, process-driven creative journey shaped by professional development, mentorship, skill-sharing and collective collaboration. Now, it’s Naarm’s time to shine!​​​​
A WORD FROM THE HCL DIRECTORS
“When touring Hot Brown Honey, artists were constantly reaching out to us to ask: ‘How can I become a Hot Brown Honey? What do I need to do to make work like this?’ Our ethos is to create platforms and pathways. We created Hive City Legacy to activate this genuine interest in our work, mobilising Femmes of Colour to share their stories centre stage. Our ambition is to create Hive City Legacy in Chapters all over the world - expanding the Hive while connecting artists and audiences'' - Lisa Fa’alafi: Director
"Working together, collaborating, learning the craft from us and also themselves, uplifting and putting artists on a platform they might not have a chance to have otherwise is what Hive City Legacy is all about. When you're in spaces at the level we are at, it is really important to look back to see how you can reach out. This project is the epitome of us doing exactly that and making sure we have seats at our table" - Yami Löfvenberg: Director
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“Hot Brown Honey believes the Arts have the capacity to transform the world. Through the Hive City Legacy project we work with a League of Extraordinary Femmes to create unapologetic and genre defying experiences which challenge, uplift and inspire audiences to make noise!!!! We are here. We are loud. We are taking up space - and we are doing it with the power of performance.” - Busty Beatz: Music Director​
HIVE CITY LEGACY - NAARM CHAPTER
The Hive Members are all super talented, multidimensional artists who trailblaze as independents as well as sharing time and space with Hot Brown Honey. Follow and support these incredible artists!
THE HIVE IS ALIVE!
HIVE CITY LEGACY : NAARM CHAPTER
Throughout the production one message was clear: these highly talented artists have powerful stories to tell, and they don’t need anyone’s permission, they are reclaiming their space." Artshub
HIVE CITY LEGACY : NAARM CHAPTER
An original work written by Lisa Fa’alafi, Busty Beatz, Yami Löfvenberg, Adrian Blount, Andi Cooper, Ebony Portelli, Linnea Tengroth, Noah Scintilla, Rian Difuntorum and Yolanda Lowatta with contributions by Milo Hartill.
A HOT BROWN HONEY and QUIET RIOT PRODUCTION
CO-DIRECTED BY
LISA FA’ALAFI and YAMI LÖFVENBERG
MUSICAL DIRECTION BY
KIM ‘BUSTY BEATZ’ BOWERS and LISA FA’ALAFI​​
PRODUCED BY Quiet Riot - Executive Producer Linda Catalano In partnership with Kim “Busty Beatz” Bowers and Lisa Fa’alafi
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STARRING
Linnea Tengroth aka Midnight Ink
Noah Scintilla aka The Fire Starter
Adrian Blount aka MuvaXXX Voyager
Rian Difuntorum aka The Queen Mutha
Andi Cooper aka The Beat Spinner
Yolanda Lowatta aka Bubbles🫧
Ebony Portelli aka The Soul Sorceress
ACTIVATE POLLINATE LIBERATE
"Hive City Legacy: Naarm Chapter is more than a performance. It’s a statement of presence, resilience, and spirit... What unfolds is bold, provocative, and deeply human...This is precisely what theatre can and should be"
My Melbourne Arts
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Lisa Fa’alafi and Paul Lim
ORIGINAL COMPOSITION
Kim “Busty Beatz” Bowers
and the cast of Hive City Legacy : Naarm Chapter
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CHOREOGRAPHY
Lisa Fa'alafi and Yami Löfvenberg
with the cast of Hive City Legacy : Naarm Chapter
STAGE MANAGER
Steph Cox
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LIGHTING DESIGN
Paul Lim
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SET DESIGN
Tristan Shelly and Lisa Fa’alafi - reworked by Paul Lim
SOUND DESIGN
Kim “Busty Beatz” Bowers
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COSTUME DESIGN
The HCL Cast
WARDROBE
Linda Catalano (Buyer) and Samantha Sultana (Realiser)
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ASSOCIATE PRODUCER/COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Amarantha Robinson
PHOTOGRAPHY
Dre Chez Photography
VIDEOGRAPHER
Pooja Sathish
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SPONSORS: REUBEN KAYE and LEAH SHELTON
​THANK YOU Kat at Jungle City Projects, Pauline at Gale Street Studios, Lauren and the team at MAV, Samantha Sultana, Kade and the team at Arts Centre Melbourne​​. Proudly supported by Creative Australia through the Victorian Circus and Physical Theatre Projects grant. We gratefully acknowledge Creative Australia's contribution to making this project possible.
THE REVOLUTION CAN NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT CHILDCARE!!
At Hot Brown Honey we believe parents and in particular mothers stories are often absent from our industry due to the overwhelming demands on them mentally, emotionally and of course financially. We want to make space where mothers can be included and until our industry comes to the table we get creative. All profits from our HBH Merch goes directly to helping the mothers in our team create work or tour with their children. We try to provide an environment that includes children, provides financial assistance and supports their mother’s to shine bright centrestage. This is how we do it! Big venues, festivals, companies yes we talking to you - it’s not impossible you just have to make it a priority. We are also raising funds for Busty during her cancer journey. So turn up to our shows or online for some killa Merch!
​MERCH AVAILABLE ONLINE: T-SHIRTS & HOODIES
Decolonise and Moisturise | Make Way for the Matriarchy | The Revolution Cannot Happen Without Childcare | Don’t Touch My Hair - Busty Fundraiser | Hive City Legacy
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LIMITED EDITION MERCH AVAILABLE AT SHOWS​
Small earrings | Large earrings | Badges | Decolonise and Moisturise Lip Balm
MAKE WAY FOR THE MATRIARCHY
"...it’s a reminder that joy is resistance. That art is protest. That femme rage, when set to a beat, can shake the foundations."
MAV - Dax Carnay-Hanrahan
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Thank you to all the Hive members that contributed to the journey:
HCL : LONDON CHAPTER
Aminita FrancIs
Farrell Cox
Elsabet Yonas
Shakaiah Perez
Dorcas Stevens
Koko Brown
Sherika Sherard
Krystal Dockery
Rebecca Solomon
Azara Meghie
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HCL : DUBLIN CHAPTER
Jess Kav
Deborah Dickenson
Tatiana Santos
Alessandra Azevedo
Osaro Azams
Venus Patel
Shauna Harris
Andrea Williams​​
RISE AND SHINE MOTHERLOVERS!
At the forefront of everything we do we give our Love and Respect to the First Nations People across the globe. Sovereignty Never Ceded.
In an act of Radical Fierce Love, we at Hot Brown Honey lay it on the table. We invite you into our world where we stand centre stage shining brightly for all to see. Too often we are portrayed as the savage, the maid, the victim, the perpetrator, but we defy these labels. We ask you to celebrate with us. Celebrate all that we are. Our Truth. Our Courage. Our Complexities. Our Resistance.
Join us as we take back our stories and explode the stereotypes that follow us. Together let us laugh at them, dismantle them and re-write them with open arms and middle finger raised.The Arts has the capacity to shift culture. We live in a culture that needs change urgently. Not tomorrow. Right Here. Right Now. We are amidst the Creative Revolution.
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Calling all the Game Changers, Myth Slayers, Poets, Movers. Music Makers Ground Breakers, Truth Sayers, Shake em up Women, Queens, Queers and Risk Takers - We are the Change Creators! THIS IS OUR WORLD MOTHERLOVERS! TIME TO SHINE! We are the Latest Models of our Ancestry. Our Stories. Our Voices. Our Bodies. We will not Apologise for Who We Are. To our Allies and Accomplices - The moment is now! #BurnItDown
HBH CULTURAL AWARENESS MERCH!
THE REVOLUTION CANNOT HAPPEN WITHOUT CHILDCARE
At Hot Brown Honey we believe parents and in particular mothers stories are often absent from our industry due to the overwhelming demands on them mentally, emotionally and of course financially. We want to make space where mothers can be included and until our industry comes to the table we get creative. All profits from our HBH Merch goes directly to helping the mothers in our team tour with their children. We try to provide an environment that includes children, provides financial assistance and supports their mother’s to shine bright centrestage. This is how we do it! Big venues, festivals, companies yes we talking to you - it’s not impossible you just have to make it a priority. We are also raising funds for Busty during her cancer journey. So turn up to our shows or online for some killa Merch!
​MERCH AVAILABLE ONLINE: T-SHIRTS & HOODIES
Decolonise and Moisturise | Make Way for the Matriarchy | The Revolution Cannot Happen Without Childcare | Don’t Touch my Hair - Busty Beatz Fundraiser | Hive City Legacy
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LIMITED EDITION MERCH AVAILABLE AT SHOWS​
Small earrings | Large earrings | Badges | Decolonise and Moisturise Lip Balm and Moisturiser
A MESSAGE FROM BUSTY BEATZ
In the words of Audre Lorde: “I have found that battling despair does not mean closing my eyes to the enormity of the tasks of effecting change, nor ignoring the strength and the barbarity of the forces aligned against us. It means teaching, surviving and fighting with the most important resource I have, myself, and taking joy in that battle.” (The Cancer Journals)
Our beloved Queen Bee, Busty Beatz diagnosed with the breast cancer (trip neg). We have taken great comfort & resolve from those who are/have gone through this battle. Some are still with us. Some are not. The reality is, this is lonnnng ass ordeal with unknown outcomes. So #ThisIsHowWeDoIt #PrepareForCare Turning shit into Honey is our Jam! #FuckCancer
MEET THE HONEYS
The Honeys are all super talented, multidimensional artists who trailblaze as independents as well as sharing time and space with Hot Brown Honey. Follow and support these incredible artists!
THE HIVE IS ALIVE!
DECOLONISE AND MOISTURISE
"The Hot Brown Honeys are fierce and with the music booming and a middle finger raised, they are here to make noise and to re-educate the patriarchal, colonial masses"
The Pantograph Punch
Rise and Shine Motherlovers! Hot Brown Honey are back with THE REMIX - Fierce! Femme! Global First Nations! Everything you love about the smash hit show, with extra sweet treats of Radical Fierce Love and Joyous Rage - Centrestage.
Steeped in the Word of The Mother and packing a punch of Hip Hop politics, Hot Brown Honey is an extraordinary production that spins tradition on its head, going above and beyond to challenge boundaries and embrace the resistance.
Equal parts theatrical masterpiece & social activism, a stellar posse of phenomenal Global First Nations women smash stereotypes in an unapologetic celebration of our similarities & differences. So get ready to laugh until you cry, clap until your hands bleed, dance in the aisles and shake every part of what your mama gave you. It’s time to be the change we want to be.
MAKE WAY FOR THE MATRIARCHY
"Hot Brown Honey is more than a show, it’s a movement...The future of feminism is Hot Brown Honey and it is delicious."
Vancouver Presents
HOT BROWN HONEY
Created and Written by
Kim “Busty Beatz” Bowers & Lisa Fa’alafi
DIRECTED BY LISA FA’ALAFI
​MUSIC DIRECTION BY BUSTY BEATZ
​TECHNICAL DIRECTION/LIGHTING DESIGN BY PAUL LIM
PRODUCED BY Quiet Riot - Executive Producer Linda Catalano In partnership with Kim “Busty Beatz” Bowers and Lisa Fa’alafi
STARRING
Lisa Fa’alafi aka The Game Changer
Ofa Fotu aka The Mythslayer/Busty Beatz Understudy
Yami Löfvenberg aka The Trailblazer
Ghenoa Gela aka The Ground Breaker
Alinta McGrady aka The Badass Mutha
Lilikoi Kaos aka The Wave Maker
Mayu Muto aka The Gravity Defier
Hope Haami aka The Music Maker
Busty Beatz aka The Queen Bee
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FEATURING THE VOICES OF
Aunty Nancy Bamaga as The Hive Mother
Rhianna Patrick “The Privilege Test"
Matriarch Kim Kaos “Aloha Oiii"
FIRST NATIONS FIERCENESS
“It's phenomenal, sexy, foot stomping fun & radical consciousness-raising all at the same time"
The Scotsman
ORIGINAL COMPOSITION | SOUND DESIGN BY BUSTY BEATZ
​ADDITIONAL COMPOSITION
“Praise to The Mother/Aunties” by Victoria Falconer. “HopeOne Makes Noise” by Hope Haami. “Badass Mutha” by Alinta McGrady. Music by Jhindu-Pedro Lawrie and Luke Daniel Peacock. Produced by Marly Luske. Recorded at Alchemix studio as apart of ‘Blakbeats’ QPAC 2019
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CHOREOGRAPHY
Lisa Fa'alafi with Cast
ADDITIONAL CHOREOGRAPHY
Samantha Williams “The Privilege Test"
Mariah Pelesa “Pussay Tactics”
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PRODUCTION DESIGN
Lisa Fa’alafi, Paul Lim, Tristan Shelley
​SET DESIGN
Tristan Shelly
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COSTUME DESIGN
Lisa Fa’alafi and Colleen Sutherland
COSTUME CONSTRUCTION
Lisa Fa’alafi, Colleen Sutherland, Millie Adams,
Leah Shelton, Jim Ioannides
COMPANY MANAGER: Colleen Sutherland​
TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT: ADDITIVE
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Rachel Lee
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RADICAL FIERCE LOVE
"This is both a call to arms and a declaration of a new era of activism. Hot Brown Honey sounds, looks & feels like the revolution we so urgently need"
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Gayatri Gopinath, Associate Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis.
New York University.
. Thank you to all the Honeys that contributed to the journey:
Elena Wangurra aka The Soul Soother
Kalala Sione aka The Love Liberator
Juanita Duncan aka The Truth Sayer
Crystal Stacey aka The Peace Maker
Cody Raymond aka The Shapeshifter
Hope Haami aka The Music Maker
Seini Taumoepeau I Heru Pinkosova | Sammie Williams | China Woo Allcock | Merlynn Tong | Ben Graetz | Alexis West
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Based on the original concept and script "Hot Brown Honey Burlesque" created by Kim ‘Busty Beatz’ Bowers, Lisa Fa’alafi and Candice Bowers
CONNECT!
At the end of 2024 the Hot Brown Honey instagram was hacked!
Follow us on our recovery account: @therealhotbrownhoney
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For enquiries please email: info@hotbrownhoney.com
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