Danusia Samal as a theatre-maker has had a very varied career to date and her links to musical theatre can be traced back to Busking It in 2018. For the past year, her most recent project (Bangers: A Lyrical Loveletter to UK Garage) has been touring England – a prime example of gig theatre (a show where music is performed live within the framework of a gig incorporated into the narrative). For those unfamilar with ‘Garage’, it is a genre of music that was popular in the UK in the 1990s/early 2000s. While perhaps not ‘mainstream’, its multiethnic flavour gave it a wide appeal in multicultural Britain.

One of the things that makes this show unique is the respective ages of the protagonists. While the principal actors play a number of roles, Bangers (slang for songs that are exceptionally catchy and exciting) primarily revolves around Aria, a 30-year-old woman and Clef, a 16-year-old pupil who is shortly to finish secondary school.

At different points in the show, both characters are at a crossroads in their respective lives, reeling from relationship break-ups and uncertainity about the future. To begin with, the only thing the characters seem to have in common is that ‘Garage’ is the soundtrack music to their lives. But looks can be deceiving…

Samal and Chaya Gupta played ‘Aria’ for much of the tour, but on the performance I attended, the character was played by Jess Tucker Boyd – the show’s movement director. A seasoned actor, devisor, musician and dancer, she’s been in the limelight since the critically-acclaimed Beyond Caring in 2014. Ably accompanying her onstage were Kaine Lawrence as Clef and Duramaney Kamara as the DJ (who a bit like a Greek Chorus, broke the ‘fourth wall’ to address the audience, interacted with the characters and provided meta-commentary to the proceedings). He also composed original music and the sound design for the production. While all the performers are naturally funny as their characters (and singing/performing admirably), Kamara is consistently the source of mirth throughout Bangers.

As well as ‘intimacy’ issues with ex-boy/girlfriends, also featuring in the show are the frayed nature of once-close friendships and estrangement from one’s parents – the source of which arises from assumptions and lack of communication.

Music-wise, authentic ‘Garage’ tunes do appear in Bangers, but for the most part the songs performed are written by Samal and are her emotional response to the music of the past. There is even acknowledgement in the show to the bifurcated nature of Garage and youth-orientated music in general, with Tone’s (Clef’s friend’s) preference for the ‘macho’/‘provocative’ lyrics versus the more ‘soulful’/emotionally adept vibe that is Clef’s ‘cup of tea’. That said, you don’t really even have to like Garage music to enjoy Bangers, as at its core is an exploration of closure of the past, via the scary and painful exposure of one’s feelings and shame about errors of judgement. But it’s not past mistakes that define you as a person. It’s what you decide to do next…

© Michael Davis 2025

Bangers: A Lyrical Love Letter to UK Garage ran at the Midlands Arts Centre on 9th and 10th April.