The Great Downhill Journey of Little Tommy at Summerhall.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Supported by vintage drums and bass (Thomas Deckx and Pieter-Jan Janssen) played through equally vintage amp systems, this is a homage to great 20th century rock music. Influences can be heard from Jimi Hendrix to Clapton to BB King and some of the great interpreters of blues/rock as we accompany Little Tommy on his journey to the sea.
This works – really works. The combination of the live painting and the super-rich guitar riffs evokes that same response back in the day of listening to a new vinyl album and poring over the artwork and lyrics that packagd the music. In this performance, the surtitles of the lyrics are witty and verge into a commentary of their own. The interaction between lyrics, art, music, performance and audience is utterly absorbing: the 70 minutes feel like 30 at the most.
The 21st century also makes a great contribution in the live looping under the mastery of Jonas Castelijns, building layer upon layer of vibrant sound.
The blues are referred to as a panacea throughout the piece – the blue prescribed by the doctor, the blue of the sea and of course, the musical blues. Jonas Vermeulen’s slight figure contorts and twists into a vast range of characters, his voice ranging from the innocence of Tommy to the rasping ramblings of the drunken distiller and many more, including Tommy’s mother. Boris Van Severen also makes a startling female vocal contribution as Verona – an alluring hussy ‘appears’ in his posturing and Joplin-esque vocal.
The finale is nothing short of exquisite as Tommy arrives at the sea and a distinct new voice appears from behind the wall-to-wall painting of his journey. This show has achieved cult status at Summerhall. No wonder. Spellbinding.
Starting quietly, focus is pulled to the light box upstage, where an unseen artist begins to paint. You can literally hear a pin drop as a face appears in profile above a woman’s torso. Then both sound and scale of painting explode. This is a festival of Fender guitars – letting rip into the fable of Little Tommy. The performers, Vermeulen and Van Severen, swamp the stage with sound and characters from meek, sweet Tommy to the crazy hunter to the pharmacist and many, many more.
Fiona Orr
Theatre ann Zee and Richard Jordan Productions
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