Local hero: Roy Payamal, busker and performer, 48

He has trained as an acrobat, actor, dancer, comedian and mime artist, and performed in numerous local theatre and dance shows. As well as co-founding local group Mime Unlimited, he runs his own performance business, Heart Neu Circus. We speak to Payamal during a break in one of his semi-regular performances in front of Takashimaya (he starts around 7pm most nights).

What’s on your trishaw tonight?
The dragon is actually something I got for performances during the Chinese New Year season. I thought it looked too imposing, so I added a pair of sunglasses onto it. It takes me two hours to put together my costume – I was up until 5 o’clock this morning fixing up my trishaw. I’ll keep adding things onto the trishaw as new ideas come in.

What are you trying to express through your performance?
I want to give the audience a sense of humour; I just want to make them laugh. When I perform I may be motionless, but I have many things going on in my mind, so it changes all the time. Very often I improvise on the spot.

How did you start performing?
I started juggling when I was six, and was mostly self-taught until I joined the SAF Music and Drama Company during my National Service. I even trained under [movie actor] Jack Neo at that time – he was a comedian, so I ended up being a comedian. During my NS, I took a mime workshop with an American lady, Christina Sergeant. At school, I always did badly in class, but with mime, I was finally able to be top in a class. Christina had workshops going on at The Substation back then too, and after my NS, we formed a company called Mime Unlimited, like a regular theatre troupe. It lasted about eight years, then I started busking.

How is busking different from performing on a stage?
With stage performances, the audience is already there, and you often have sound effects to build the hype. On the street it is different – you’ve got to adapt, and it’s not just about talent. You have to ask why people should give you money, and know how to get the crowd. I like being out under the sky and on the street, where you can see your audience’s faces. I believe a lot of creativity comes from the street and people here don’t really realise that. I chose to do this because nobody expects great things to be coming from the street; nobody takes busking seriously. But I have a very good spot by a busy intersection. I have that advantage and I feel that I need to do the best I can.

Interview and photograph by Dannon Har