Beloved street performer and Brisbane native, Merilee Ettia, returns to Queen Street Mall this month with her new show Busking in Glory.
A self-made performer, Ms Ettia began her career as a busker at a young age, “when I was 13, which is earlier than you can work in a lot of other jobs, I got my busking license and I spent about 10 years in Queen Street Mall, which was a very interesting way to grow up”, Ms Ettia said.
Over the course of her decade performing in the mall, Ms Ettia built her skills and her audience, learning to grapple with the realities of performing along the way.
“I learned how to hold an audience a little bit better, but I think the main thing I got in all those years was my confidence as a performer”, Ms Ettia said.
Despite early rejections from drama schools, Ms Ettia pushed forward, all the while supported by the kindness of her Brisbane audiences.
“They [busking audiences] can just walk past and completely ignore you, so it’s really affirming to have so much support from the people of Brisbane and having people say really nice, affirming, and encouraging things and encouraging me to keep going with it,” Ms Ettia said.
Eventually Ms Ettia would be accepted into a drama school in London and begin work on major shows.
Her newest performance, Busking in Glory is, in her own words “a love letter and a thank you to Brisbane”.
The show will also explore the impact of art on the world around us, as well as the resilience and hope of emerging artists in what Ms Ettia calls an “anti-artist world”.
Busking in Glory will be performed free to audiences in Queen Street Mall from May 29 – 31.
Audiences should expect absurd true stories from Ms Ettia’s busking days, hit show tunes from popular musicals Matilda, Wicked, and Phantom of the Opera, and some deeply personal stories about the impact of Ms Ettia’s art on her life and the lives of others.
This love letter to Brisbane is one you’ll surely want to read.
More information is available here.
