Review by Katrina Couzens of Busking in Glory presented by Merilee Ettia
If I only had one word to describe Merilee, it would be intensity. If I had two, I’d add drive. Fortunately, I have upwards of 200. Part homage, part rant, Merilee presents a powerful autobiography of her busking experiences in Queen Street Mall, and her ambitions for professional stages and attentive audiences. The emotional rollercoaster is illustrated by West End-worthy showtunes (the London West End, not the Brisbane one) spanning the Little Mermaid, to Wicked, to Matilda, and more, that arrested many an unsuspecting mall-goer.
I performed with Merilee a few times before she left for London some years ago, and the change in her vocal strength, purity of tone, and expressiveness (both in and out of song) is gobsmacking. Outside of her personality and physical appearance, she is barely recognisable as the street performer I remember. Watching her show was a bittersweet experience—her incredible performance had little that was recognisably Australian to it, and while I’m used to Australians singing in the US and UK accents of the songs they are performing, it was confronting to realise her spoken accent had also drifted to the clipped, posh vowels of London. Truly, it is our own loss, as Merilee’s autobiography subtly reveals, documenting the systematic failures of Australian cultural institutions to support and give opportunities to performers like her.
Busking in Glory is no rosy view of the street performer’s life. It’s full of frustrations big and small, a story of grit and tenacity. You’ll come away with a better understanding of the hard work being done by our local performers and Let It Go stuck in your head.
