By: Erin Williamson
“The Great Downhill Journey of Little Tommy” is the brainchild of Jonas Vermeulen and Boris Van Severen, hailing from Belgium, and one of the shows I’ve had the honor to be involved with. The show bills itself as ‘a coming of age performance told in songs and live drawings.’ When the show first begins, you’re ears are assaulted by a short blond man screaming into a megaphone “MY SON IS GONE,” while the band plays a loud metal style behind him. As this is happening a woman, wearing all black and no shoes, stands behind a screen painting the scenes as they happen. The drawing takes shape as an abstract representation of the story that is being portrayed through each song, adding a visual element to the piece.
“Little Tommy” tells the story of what happens when a young boy, Tommy, leaves his comfortable home on top of the hill to find the sea. Along the way he encounters people that, for reasons of their own, no longer live in the town he comes from. Each new character displays a different issues that many of us can identify with: the desire to be wanted, depression, arrogance, drunkenness, etc. With each new character, the music is altered to enhance the person and situation being portrayed, much like The Who’s “Tommy,” the original inspiration for the show. Out of the many shows I’ve seen at the Fringe, Big in Belgium’s “The Great Downhill Journey of Little Tommy” is my favorite –and I’m not just saying that because I’m on their marketing team. It is truly an outstanding work of theatre and music that deserves recognition; I mean it did win the “Fringe First 2015” award.
“The Great Downhill Journey of Little Tommy” is the brainchild of Jonas Vermeulen and Boris Van Severen, hailing from Belgium, and one of the shows I’ve had the honor to be involved with. The show bills itself as ‘a coming of age performance told in songs and live drawings.’ When the show first begins, you’re ears are assaulted by a short blond man screaming into a megaphone “MY SON IS GONE,” while the band plays a loud metal style behind him. As this is happening a woman, wearing all black and no shoes, stands behind a screen painting the scenes as they happen. The drawing takes shape as an abstract representation of the story that is being portrayed through each song, adding a visual element to the piece.
“Little Tommy” tells the story of what happens when a young boy, Tommy, leaves his comfortable home on top of the hill to find the sea. Along the way he encounters people that, for reasons of their own, no longer live in the town he comes from. Each new character displays a different issues that many of us can identify with: the desire to be wanted, depression, arrogance, drunkenness, etc. With each new character, the music is altered to enhance the person and situation being portrayed, much like The Who’s “Tommy,” the original inspiration for the show. Out of the many shows I’ve seen at the Fringe, Big in Belgium’s “The Great Downhill Journey of Little Tommy” is my favorite –and I’m not just saying that because I’m on their marketing team. It is truly an outstanding work of theatre and music that deserves recognition; I mean it did win the “Fringe First 2015” award.
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