Directed and written by Alaine Beek and Berne-Lee (Nana) Edwards, Essence Theatre Productions and Ngā Mātai Pūrua Inc (a Wyndham based Māori non-profit organisation). (NMP) is set to bring audiences a gripping new work inspired by events at Port Phillip Prison, now set to close in 2025 amid major prison reforms.
The Yellow Line is based on NMP President Tyson Tuala’s real-life experience as a prison guard. This compelling new Australian work asks; What does redemption look like when you carry the weight of culture, identity, and justice on your shoulders?
“For so long, that chapter of my life existed quietly – something I carried but didn’t always speak about,” says Tuala, who never set out to make a play. “To now see it on stage, with all its complexity, has been powerful. Honestly, it’s a bit surreal. There’s a part of me that’s proud not just because it’s “my story” but because it reflects so many untold experiences from our communities. It’s strange and moving to watch moments you’ve lived being reinterpreted, but also validating. It tells me those experiences mattered, that they’re worthy of being held up, reflected on, and learnt from.”
With each character being based on a real person, the work is very personal as well as incredibly funny, with quintessential Māori humour throughout. Elements of the research involved spending a day in a prison to witness a Waitangi Day performance and interviewing 10 prison guards, and multiple prisoners about their experiences.
Essence Theatre Productions (ETP) Artistic Director Alaine Beek heard the story from The Yellow Line three years ago from Tuala and knew it had to be told. Through the Malcolm Robertson Foundation she was given the support to write with a Māori co-writer. Alaine knew Berne-Lee Edwards (Nana) through her strong connection with NMP, and she agreed to write it with her, resulting in the work now on the stage.
Tuala explains he met Alaine through Essence Theatre Productions a few years back when they ended up working together on another community project. “I could see how enthusiastic she was regardless of how many years she had been in the theatre world. On the conclusion of the project another actor and Alaine asked me about my life and experiences, and one day I shared this story. I could see they didn’t just hear the story – they felt it. From there, the idea for The Yellow Line was born.
The process took over three years. We didn’t rush it. It was about trust – her earning our trust to tell it honestly, and me trusting her craft to do it justice.
Alaine and Nana (Berne-Lee Edwards) worked side-by-side, bouncing ideas, unpacking moments, making sure it held the truth but also allowed room for the artistry. It was collaborative, layered, and deeply respectful.”
Tuala says the play wrestles with a lot – identity, justice, disconnection, hope. It’s about the systems we work in and get swallowed by. But it’s also about the spark of something greater – culture, connection, redemption.
“For me, one of the key themes is transformation – not in a perfect, tidy way but in a way that asks what it means to carry your culture into a space that doesn’t always value it and still manage to light something in others. These aren’t just my messages they’re collective ones. And that’s why it feels important to put them out there.”
Tuala acknowledges that the process has been a cathartic one. It’s helped him reframe things he went through and also honour parts he might have brushed off. It’s made him reflect more deeply on the role he played, the impact he had, and what it meant to bring wairua (loosely defined as a living soul) into that kind of space.
“There were moments I didn’t expect to hit so hard seeing a scene and realising, damn, I never processed that,” he says. “Or watching it through someone else’s eyes and feeling a new layer of grief, or pride, or anger.”
The work shines a spotlight on the Māori and Pasifika communities, who are disproportionately impacted by incarceration in Australia, and does focus on Māori culture, but all cultures will deeply connect with this play. Based on a specific story, it has universal themes throughout.
Tuala wants audiences to question the systems we uphold and what they cost us emotionally, culturally, spiritually.
“I want this work to open conversations about rehabilitation, cultural disconnection, and the power of finding purpose,” he says. “I want it to challenge the way we see “offenders” and “guards” not as good vs. bad, but as complex humans navigating a system designed to fail us both. These are the conversations that can create change, not just in policy, but in how we hold space for each other.
The work also delves into the important cultural gravitas of Haka – the Maori ceremonial war dance. Something not openly understood in the wider community.
“We’ve been here in these communities, in these workplaces, in these stories but we’re not often seen,” says Tuala. “Representation isn’t about ticking boxes. It’s about reclaiming space, shifting narratives, and seeing ourselves reflected in all our complexity.
Having Haka on stage isn’t just a performance it’s a declaration. It’s identity, discipline, healing, resistance. When it’s done right with respect and grounding it has the power to move everyone in the room, not just those who know the kupu. And that’s what I hope people take away that there’s depth here worth understanding.”
The cultural significance is on potent display when a prison guard, who currently teaches Haka in prisons, attended a performance and was so moved he performed a solo Haka as thanks to the production team. He still teaches Haka in prison for Waitangi Day.
And, on the closing night of the May season the audience stood and performed Haka to the actors on the stage as a sign of respect and gratitude for the performance they had just given.
As for Tuala’s relationship with Beek and team, he says of this, her twelve play as a playwright:
“Thank you for listening, for holding this story with care, and for backing it all the way.
Alaine, you didn’t just write this, you stewarded it. To everyone involved, cast, crew, creatives, thank you for honouring the kaupapa. This isn’t just theatre. It’s lived experience made visible, and I’m grateful for every single person who helped bring it to life.”
A story of humour, vulnerability, and connection, The Yellow Line also shares important insight into the Victorian justice system through a Māori and Pasifika Lens Running for three performances only at the newly refurbished Wyndham Cultural Centre in July, don’t miss the opportunity to experience a show that had audiences raving, with standing ovations after the premiere season.
Says Tuala,
“Come for the story but stay for the whakaaro it leaves you with.
This isn’t just a play, it’s a conversation. It’s raw, it’s real, and it will challenge the way you see the world. If you’ve ever worked in the system, known someone inside, felt like you didn’t belong, or wondered what culture can do to heal this shows for you.”
26 and 27 July
Sat 2pm and 7:30pm, Sun 5pm
www.essencetheatre.productions/the-yellow-line-1
