Double-Bill: Riders Know When It’s Gonna Rain & Hawa
Riders Know When It’s Gonna Rain is a glimpse into the mat moto subculture, complete with lingo of the Singapore motorbiking community and youths going with the fast ride. Audience members follow the journey of four friends from the day of receiving their 2B licenses to the unexpected detour of their friendships.
The play is presented mostly in Malay as it captures the essence of its characters as well as the culture itself. Having surtitles help non-Malay speakers to understand the conversations, but even through the acting, I am able to figure out what is going on at any given point in time.
Straightforward, clear and heartfelt, I find myself empathising with all the characters throughout the play. Nessa Anwar captures their growth and personalities in her writing simply, and the actors have tremendous chemistry in breathing life into the characters.
Some scene changes felt clumsy and excessive but each setting is used to great effect and adding layers of meaning to the text.
Through the building up and the slow burn of events, the ending for Riders Know When It’s Gonna Rain really hit it home for me. I enjoy how the fragments hinted through the play came together in the end without the over-explanation and fuss.
Hawa delves deep into the topic of religion, sexuality and love. This text-heavy piece is mainly presented in English, which provides a good guide to the audience on certain Islam-specific terms. Dialogue is the key to this play. Many back-and-forth banter question each character’s beliefs and intentions, while giving audience members the space to be part of that conversation.
The gem in Hawa is really watching the whole process of cleaning a body – how to cover it and clothe it with white pieces of cloth. Being able to witness something so intimate and important proves to be meditative, and somehow, very emotional.
Catching both plays in a single night is quite an experience since I got to see multiple aspects of the Malay culture and Islam side-by-side. Considering that I am not part of these groups, it is a true privilege to be able to experience these events in the form of theatre and educate myself further.