Guest Blog: Danusia Samal On BUSKING IT

Busking It - the working title that not only stuck, but came to sum up the whole spirit of the show, and all the fun we've had making it.

It never stops shifting, and in true busking style, every new space we're in and every audience we meet gives us ideas about how to take the idea further. How do you make a show that is part theatre, part jazz gig, part busy busking pitch in Bank?

That's why we're so excited to be bringing Busking It to Shoreditch Town Hall's Ditch space this month. Like the many mice of London's tube tunnels, we are taking up residency underground and looking forward to recreating the unique, magical and sometimes downright surreal world of a TFL busker onstage.

Because it is kind of magical; there's nothing like it. The anonymity of the underground liberates people to show their best and worst selves. And buskers are a natural target. You've placed yourself in a public space and you become public property.

This is kind of what the heart of the show is about. I spent ten years busking, and even though people were sometimes awful, and occasionally scary things happened, I left with the sense that at their core, most people are decent and there is hope in humanity. It's in those little interactions, those moments of connection that occur when you stop and listen.

People often ask: "Is it true?". Everyone you meet in Busking It is based on someone real. I wrote down my experiences over the years and the show started as a series of five-minute sketches.

Busking was a big part of my life, even when acting jobs took me away for months at a time. I based my approach to performing on it: if I only have 30 seconds to affect someone, then I have to sing like I mean it. I've tried to carry that ethos in everything I do.

Sadly, in 2016, I was away and missed the license renewals. These days, busking licenses are in high demand so I had to pass the busking baton to the next generation. It forced me to reflect on everything I'd learnt and compelled me to write a full show and work my arse off to get it onstage (special thanks to the RSC, Soho, HighTide and Shoreditch Town Hall for complying!). If I couldn't busk anymore, at least I could share the stories with an audience, right?

As a busker, you interact with a huge cross-section of people. Sometimes you make a really strong connection with a stranger in need, but in the end you realise there's only so much you can do.

As director Guy and I developed the script, the theme of "fallen kings" became stronger. A personal story emerged of a character seeking asylum in this country and being broken by the hostile environment many refugees face. The city can be isolating, so how do we keep the faith that "A change has got to come"?

I have no idea. But with Busking It, we've tried making a start, with a hopeful, fun show about music's power to connect us.

Busking It at Shoreditch Town Hall 9-20 October

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