Pearson, M
Bubbling Tom
What is Bubbling Tom about ?
• Bubbling tom was a one man performance that was staged in a very tour
guided style where the audiences are shown around one square mile of a
town and introduced to memories and stories about the landmarks they
come across.
• Bubbling Tom is actually a river that is known for the good fortune it is
meant to bring to those who drink from it, however the location of this
river is a mystery and everyone you speak to will lead you in different
directions. If however you are to drink from it , you are known to return.
• Although the name of this piece is centred around the river the true
underlying story is about the death of Pearson’s father, Pearson wants to
use these piece to explore whether it’s actually possible to remember
things that happened when we were six and do buildings hold marks from
their past, like humans (scars from incidents).
Theory in the reading
• Pearson uses Bubbling tom to explain to the reader how a
performance can be centred around a journey and not an object,
although part of the tour does involve looking at marks that have
been made on the sides of buildings the true story is about the
reasons it’s there not how it got there.
• Pearson also explains the concept of personal memory and how
two people could visit a church (for example in context with our
performance) and one could see nothing but the bricks and water,
whereas the other could have a whole family history of marriages
and funerals there. Pearson’s explains how many times buildings
will not show their value visually but allow you to transport your
audience, a concept we very much hope to bring to our work.
• Pearson then moves on to explaining the struggle in
actually formulating the memory, this can be because as
a child we find it very different to distinguish from fact
and fantasy so how can we show it’s really true, or as an
older person the further in history it becomes the more
the memory becomes a set image stuck in time.
• Memories are based on truth but many times we are
left arguing amongst ourselves over who can remember
the complete truth, this is why Pearson’s decided to
make this piece a one man show as its more engaging to
have one set story told to you then contrasting ones.
• “I am constantly interrupted by others with additions to,
and corrections and contradictions of my own story …
other memories of these same places at other times”
Quotes we liked
• “…Me then, them now… I worked with
fragments, with material traces, with evidence, in
order to create something, a meaning, a
narrative, a story, that stands for the past in the
present”
• “It would feel strange, inappropriate, disturbing,
to make work at home”
• “This work is an evocation of the past: rather
than being a reconstruction ..”
One last point to add
Once Pearson’s completed this piece he has shown it
around different neighbourhoods but he has never
returned back “home” for reasons of mystery.
He explains that if you can show this piece in
different locations and people believe you, what is
to say it’s really true or location defined.
Source Reference
Pearson, M. (2006) “Bubbling Tom,” In
Comes 1, pp. 21-29
Something I found related
http://markahunter.wordpress.com/