Book Review: From The Top by T.L.W. Robb

Lesley Hewitt

From the Top, a memoir by Tom Robb, describes his life as a “Traveller, Outlaw, and Producer”. Tom grew up in Ballarat and had what many would consider a miserable childhood. His father “shot through,” his mother suffered from mental health issues, the family constantly moved, with Tom and his sister attending many different schools, living in orphanages, and leaving school at 15 to work in a factory. From this background, Tom’s journey from the factory floor to travelling the world with his partner Luis Moreno producing “tits and feathers” Moulin Rouge style extravaganzas in 21 countries is a fascinating and entertaining read.

The book is full of anecdotes about the various countries Tom’s Australian Entertainment Company (AEC) performed in, including Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Tom was a recent guest on Hepburn Radio’s 2nd Thursday Book review and believes that growing up it was his sexuality that gave him the resilience to move away from Ballarat and the straightened circumstances of his family and peers. The “O” for outlaw refers to the fact that in 20 of the countries the company performed in, including Australia, homosexuality was against the law of the time.

The “T” for Traveller refers to those 20 countries and the book is full of anecdotes about his experiences in those places and interesting information about how changing political circumstances impacted the AEC shows.

And the “P” covers Producer, a fascinating look at what goes into producing shows of that magnitude – sourcing materials, making costumes, transporting costumes and dancers, negotiating customs, dealing with venues, and ensuring good working conditions for the dancers. The list goes on.

Tom has now retired, lives near Castlemaine, and has taken up archery. Indeed, as the book cover says, ‘It is in the end, a warm and moving account of a life well lived.”

You can listen to the Hepburn Community Radio, 2nd Thursday Book review Podcast with Tom Robb at https://soundcloud.com/hepburn-community-radio/lesley-hewitt-book-review-tom-11724. Tom will appear in person at the Ballarat Mechanics Institute on 19^th September from 6-8pm. Tickets ($10.00) are available from  https://events.humanitix.com/tlw-robb-bmi?hxchl=hex-pfl

The book is available at Paradise Books, Daylesford.

Lesley Hewitt is a Daylesford resident who hosts The 2nd Thursday Book Review on Hepburn Radio.