navera was commissioned by Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV) to write a review for Hive City Legacy – Naarm Chapter, which was presented at The Show Room, at Arts Centre Melbourne from 23 – 27 April 2025.

Hive City Legacy – Naarm Chapter is a full-bodied collision of theatre, movement, poetry, music, comedy and circus; it acts as a collective love letter honouring those who came before and empowering those still fighting for visibility, justice and representation.

After presenting powerful iterations in London and Dublin, the Hive City Legacy project set up shop in Naarm, continuing to drive the global conversation on representation, inclusion, diversity and decolonisation through storytelling and performance making.

The project presents itself as a labour of radical joy and love, being the culmination of life experiences from seven BIPOC femme artists local to Naarm working under the guidance of Hot Brown Honey to create a high-impact performance that speaks to representation, decolonisation, and unapologetic creative expression.

You can’t have a conversation about visibility, justice and representation without delving into the significance of why it is a necessary radical act. Being BIPOC in Australia, specifically femme, has always come with the expectation that you play nice, are never disruptive, only speak when spoken to, and never push the limits of the neat envelope you’ve been placed in or the stereotype that you’ve been reduced to.

Historically, BIPOC femme stories have been told by and through the lens of cis-het white people, often men, where we act as props to serve the main character or push forward the overarching narrative through small and/or supporting roles.

With the Australian mainstage productions comprising predominantly of Shakespearean plays and Greek tragedies, alongside many other ‘greats’, it’s often harder than not to have new and emerging playwrights have their works backed and staged by the main houses for full season runs.

Presented by Hot Brown Honey in partnership with Quiet RIOT, as supported by MAV, Jungle City Projects, Arts Centre Melbourne, City of Melbourne and Creative Australia.

Co-directed by: Lisa Fa’alafi and Yami Löfvenberg
Musical Direction by: Kim ‘Busty Beatz’ Bowers and Lisa Fa’alafi
Produced by: Quiet Riot, in partnership with Kim ‘Busty Beatz’ Bowers and Lisa Fa’alafi
Performers: Linnea Tengroth, Noah Scintilla, Adrian Blount, Rian Difuntorum, Andi Cooper, Yolanda Lowatta, Ebony Portelli.
Associate Producer/Community Engagement: Amarantha Robinson
Production Design: Lisa Fa’alafi and Paul Lim
Stage Manager: Steph Cox
Sound Design: Kim “Busty Beatz” Bowers
Set Design: Tristan Shelly and Lisa Fa’alafi. Reworked by Paul Lim.
Lighting: Paul Lim