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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNon-bikers would surely wonder: aren\u2019t such injuries enough to deter Nessa from saddling up again?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And yet, Nessa speaks of riding Faramir \u2013 her precious Honda XR400 \u2013 with a love and tenderness that informs every scene of her first full-length play, Riders Know When It\u2019s Gonna Rain<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe freedom of riding a bike is second nature to me,\u201d she enthuses. \u201cIt excites every single sense I have. And I really sayang<\/em> my bike \u2013 it\u2019s a part of my identity. When I ride, it becomes a part of my body.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Writing a play about her experiences as a rider had never crossed Nessa\u2019s mind until Huzir Sulaiman, her mentor and Joint Artistic Director of Checkpoint Theatre, suggested it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first iteration of the play, which centres on the deep friendship shared by four riders, was staged as part of Checkpoint Theatre\u2019s \u2018What I Love About You Is Your Attitude Problem\u2019 for the 2015 Singapore Writers Festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRiders<\/em> is a tribute to all the fallen riders,\u201d Nessa explains. \u201cEvery single rider knows someone who died in an accident. That\u2019s just a basic fact. And no one knows their stories. So I thought \u2013 if I have an opportunity like this, why not tell the stories of this minority group?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two such stories resonate particularly strongly with Nessa, and have found their way into Riders<\/em>. Six years ago, Nizam, one of her dear friends, died on impact when a car ran a red light and ploughed into him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI spent hours crying when I was writing the play, because he was really the best human being in the world,\u201d she remembers, tears shining in her eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other accident involved three best friends who had been inseparable since kindergarten. A trailer side-swept them while they were riding \u2013 one rider died immediately; another died in the arms of the final rider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s so f**king sad,\u201d Nessa says. \u201cCan you imagine watching your two best friends die in front of you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The play has since been rewritten for its second staging in the Singapore Theatre Festival, following discussions with the Festival\u2019s Artistic Director Ivan Heng and Dramaturg Alfian Sa\u2019at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere was a female character based on me in the first staging, but she wasn\u2019t fully fleshed-out,\u201d Nessa elaborates. \u201cThe play was more focused on the friendship and camaraderie amongst the riders. But Ivan and Alfian wanted to see more of my perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nessa makes no bones about how frustrating it is to be one of the few female riders in an overwhelmingly male community. \u201cNo on trusts a female biker to do or know anything!\u201d she groans. \u201cMy guy friends know I ride, and my bike is bigger than most of their bikes. But, when they talk about bikes, they talk amongst themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She is thrilled to have the opportunity to dig deeper into her character in Riders<\/em> with her director, Aidli \u2018Alin\u2019 Mosbit. \u201cI put a lot of myself into this female biker,\u201d she observes. \u201cBut, working with Kak Alin, I\u2019ve discovered that I\u2019m not just playing myself. I\u2019m actually acting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Working in the theatre again after a few years spent working on Suria has also been a treat for Nessa. \u201cI was very uncomfortable with the attention and scrutiny that came with working in the TV industry,\u201d she confesses. \u201cSo I returned to the theatre recently, which wholeheartedly welcomed me. It feels like home!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/newsletter\/NL32\/02C.jpg\")
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