Teatru Rjal was, for many decades, Malta’s elite cultural venue with the theatre’s podium providing the grandiose entrance that one would expect of the country’s leading opera house. However, unbeknownst to many, the podium also served as a bridge between the elitist ‘indoor’ and the populist ‘outside’ worlds when Maltese composer and conductor Paul Nani, together with a handful of musicians and singers, used to entertain passersby with free, operatic concerts on the theatre’s podium. Many decades later, Pjazza Teatru Rjal’s first-ever BUSKERFEST promises to continue doing so by opening up its podium to a number of talented buskers who would like to share their art with the general public.