EDINBURGH 2016 - Review: HOT BROWN HONEY, Assembly Roxy, 12 August

Each Edinburgh Fringe there are one or two shows that get it all right. They go beyond mere theatre into something of much greater value and significance. Hot Brown Honey is one such show. From the creative team behind Australian cabaret sensation Briefs comes an all-female dynamic variety show. Ariel work, dance, poetry and song all explore the story of what it means and feels like to be a woman of colour in today's society.

Strangely for a show with such a solid group of performers, it feels like a variety show of individual artists, but this is a magical thing. There is a unity, but each get to glow in blazing glory, without outshining one other, as each burns so bright. In a society and media climate that pits females against each other, it is liberating to see an ensemble piece where woman can celebrate one other's unique gifts.

You will not find more a passionate beatboxing solo at the Fringe this year. What is usually a crowd-pleasing, impressive talent is taken up a level to feel raw like it's telling a story without words.

The soundtrack does for R&B and hip hop what Velvet did for disco at last year's Fringe. The pulsating hot list of strong female voices and fierce lyrics blasts out of the speaker system. For lovers of this music genre, it will be impossible to stay on your seat as classic after classic plays.

This is how you highlight important issues. This is how you celebrate diversity and heritage. This is how you Stage Entertainment with heart and message.

Rated 16+, as it's risky at points and in-your-face, the message is so strong and energy so vivid that it will fire up any viewer. It feels important that as many people as possible hear these ladies roar. And the workshops and art exhibitions that carry on the message out with the show highlight how committed the whole team is to the piece and its significance.

A powerhouse performance of passion and poignancy. Unleash the lioness within all of us and do not miss this smash of a show.

Hot Brown Honey runs at Assembly Roxy until 28th August

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