RUMAH DAYAK | by Nessa Anwar

A night-hour safehouse for the troubled youths, dropouts, runaways and delinquents of the Malay community is run by a pair of ex-offenders. When external intervention looms, it will take their collective efforts to keep the walls of their home up. Or will they come tumbling down?

Written and directed by Nessa Anwar, Rumah Dayak is an unflinching look at the struggle to guard a home built out of circumstances surrounding poverty, deprivation and abuse. Rumah Dayak is the inaugural production by new collective Rupa co.lab, which comprises Hazwan Norly, Nabilah Said and Nessa Anwar.

Performed in Malay and English, with English surtitles.

1^st Phase (July 2019)

Rumah Dayak was presented as a full-length dramatised-read at Centre 42’s Guest Room on 6 July 2019. A post-presentation feedback session was facilitated by Nabilah Said. Feedback gathered at this by-invite presentation will provide Nessa with additional information to further develop the play.

2^nd Phase (November 2019)

Rumah Dayak will be staged at the Malay Heritage Centre from 21 to 24 November 2019.

About Rupa co.lab
Rupa co.lab is a Singaporean art collective of theatremakers Hazwan Norly, Nabilah Said and Nessa Anwar. In collaboration, these three artists tap into their vibrant and diverse creative processes and talents to create new Singaporean works. Derived from the Sanskrit word, रूप (rūpa), which means “form, shape”, Rupa co.lab is dedicated to reshaping contemporary conversations, through the lens of the Malay person.

Playwright & Director, co-founder of Rupa co.lab – Nessa Anwar
Nessa Anwar has written, acted and produced for theatre, television and video. Nessa began acting under companies like Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Young Company and Teater Ekamatra. Nessa graduated in Philosophy from NUS, studying playwriting and screenwriting. She has written award-winning short films, television programmes and an online series “InstaScram”. Her first full-length play, “Riders Know When It’s Gonna Rain” was staged under Checkpoint Theatre and Wild Rice. She is a founding member of Singapore playwright collective Main Tulis Group.

Producer, co-founder of Rupa co.lab – Nabilah Said
Nabilah Said is a playwright and producer who has presented work in Singapore and London with Teater Ekamatra, The Necessary Stage, Bhumi Collective and Lazy Native. Recent producing credits include “ANGKAT: A Definitive, Alternative, Reclaimed Narrative of a Native” and “Inside Voices” in London’s VAULT Festival. She is the founder of Main Tulis Group, Singapore’s first collective of playwrights writing in Malay and English. Nabilah is also a theatre critic and arts writer.

Marketing Manager, co-founder of Rupa co.lab – Hazwan Norly
Hazwan Norly would like to sell himself as an artist/writer/theatre practitioner/dabbler in pain, but pain is not a condition exclusive to artists. He is a sentimental and emotional observer of the universe, whose currency is life experience points, and whose caffeine is of the mental sort – shaken, not stirred. To date, he has both written and performed for the stage. Hazwan is also one of the founding members of Singapore playwright collective Main Tulis Group.

Actor – Al-Matin Yatim (NAHAR)
Al-Matin Yatim is a Professional Theatre Practitioner graduated from Intercultural Theatre Institute. He has been working for the past decade, mainly as a stage actor, with many notable and established companies like The Necessary Stage, TheatreWorks, Cake Theatrical Productions, Hatch Theatrics, The Theatre Practice, etc. He has also performed internationally in cities like Braunshweig, Brisbane and Edinburgh. He shared the nomination of Life! Theatre Award 2016’s Best Ensemble and Best Production of the year in “It Won’t be too long: The Cemetery” in the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) 2015.

Actor – Farah Lola (JULIA)
Farah Lola is a budding local comedienne with a knack for observational humour and parody. Most of her content is drawn from her experience growing up as a brown female in Singapore. In the past year, her viral videos have garnered over half a million views on social
media. Her recent work has been covered by international media such as Business Insider and Yahoo SG to rave reviews.She is also a host and has worked as an actor with Teater Ekamatra under the Playwright Director Mentorship Programme.

Actor – Uddyn J (SHAH)
Saifuddin Jumadi, or affectionately known as Uddyn, is a lifelong arts enthusiast. He had his roots in Malay traditional dance with Era Dance Theatre & People’s Association Malay Dance Group. Under the guidance of Osman Hamid, Fathurrahman Said and Sumia Samsudin, he performed various dance pieces and represented Singapore in various International Festivals. Uddyn is multi-faceted; he was pursuing his degree in the infamous Al-Azhar University of Egypt and simultaneously developing his capacity in performing arts. It was in Egypt that he
began exploring creative directing, scriptwriting and producing several plays. With the aim of marrying arts and faith and making it  accessible and mainstream, Uddyn with his 2 other friends formed Big Mouth Production. Since 2009, he has creative-produced and scriptwrote 30 production pieces and still aspire to do more and push boundaries.

Actor – Yamin Yusof (DASH)
Yamin’s first foray in acting was his appearance in Anugerah Skrin 2016 as a contestant. Yamin Yusof has worked in theatre as well as had featured and main roles in short films and television productions for Mediacorp Suria. Formerly trained by Rafaat Hamzah, Najib Soiman, Norisham Osman and Kamil Haque (under the Haque Collective), Yamin spends most of his time in the gym or making coffee.

Actor – Rusydina Afiqah (ELLA)
Rusydina Afiqah received her BA (Hons) in Theatre Arts from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Notable productions include Here and Beyond! (Toy Factory); Bloody Damn (NAFA); Step Outta Line (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2018 & NAFA) and a multimedia screening for Kenang-Kenangan Seorang Wanita Pemalu (Teater Kami). Recently, she was a part of Late Night Texting 2019 as a performer in Spittle Spattle, part of Verso/Recto and also a host. Witness the humorous side of Rusydina as she stars in an online comedy sketch series on
YouTube called The BenZi Project.

Actor – Wan Ahmad (BOY)
Wan Ahmad discovered theatre back in 2014 as a member of Temasek Polytechnic’s Teatro Since then, he has worked for numerous companies such as Teater Ekamatra, The Necessary Stage, Malay Heritage Centre, and Esplanade’s Alkesah. He also volunteered in Muhammadiyah Welfare Home to teach theatre to the residents. With two of his friends, he owns a theatre collective, Teater Artysan.

Actor – Tysha Khan (AMIRA)
Tysha is a Singapore-based actor and writer. She has worked in productions by companies such as Teater Kami and UNSAID, often on topics that hold great meaning to her. Her most recent performance was in Anak Melayu (Teater Kami). Besides performing on stage, Tysha acts on screen, hosts, and has her own YouTube channel called Go Jerr. She is also a published poet and has translated films and interviews. A recipient of the Goh Chok Tong Youth Promise Award, she is currently training at the Intercultural Theatre Institute, and will soon be the first Malay-Muslim woman to graduate from the school.

Actor – Ali Mazrin (SLIM)
Ali Mazrin is an actor and set designer. Graduated from HNITEC in Performance Production, Ali studied both in performing and technical aspects, under the teachings of Elnie S Mashuri, Terrence Lau, A Kumarran, Haizan Salam and more. He has designed sets for Karya 2018 by
Azpirasi. He was the stage crew and doubled up as the ensemble, for Alkesah Pestaraya 2018 by Esplanade Theatre. ‘Rumah Dayak’ is going to be his first full-length play, and he couldn’t be more thrilled!

Lighting Designer – Emanorwatty Saleh
Emanorwatty Saleh has worked extensively in production and stage management, lighting and sound design, acting and performance. Some of her technical credits include Reading Centhini (2014) by Agnes Christina at The Substation Directors’ Lab, Lockdown (2014) by Hatch Theatrics and as a lighting designer for Untitled (2013) by The Kaizen M.D. She graduated with a BA (Hons) in Technical Theatre Arts from LASALLE College of the Arts in 2008.

Set Designer – Mohd Fared Jainal
Mohd Fared Jainal graduated with a Master In Arts (Design) from Open University/LASALLE College of the Arts and is a recipient of the Goh Chok Tong Youth Promise Award. He has collaborated extensively with various theatre and art groups as a director, performer, visual artist and set designer. The Gingerbread Man (Singapore Repertory Theatre), a collaboration with LASALLE College of the Arts, earned him Best Set Design for 2007 Life! Theatre Awards. His work The Comedy of the Tragic Goats by Cake Theatre won him Best Director for 2009 Life! Theatre Awards, and Cuckoo Birds, collaboration between Cake Theatre and Five Arts Centre, Malaysia, won him Best Set Design for 8th BOH Cameronian Arts Awards 2009. In 2010, he was one of the four artists selected for residency with the prestigious La Mama International in Spoleto, Umbria, Italy.

Production Stage Manager: Azy Alias
Assistant Stage Manager: Iffah Idi