Harry Tomlin directs a powerful live rendition of rising artist Kat Penkin’s song The Underdog, recorded at the breathtaking Menuhin Hall in Surrey. 

Tomlin opens with a tongue-in-cheek narrative scene to introduce the tender live performance: a pianist (Robert Dimbleby) is performing Beethoven’s Pathétique 1st Movement in the empty Menuhin Hall to a single female judge, who abruptly dismisses him. That allows Kat, who is waiting outside the venue, to take his place. 

The stripped-back live performance that follows is captured simply and elegantly. Lyrically, the song reflects on the realities of navigating the music industry from the margins, and Tomlin's supports that idea with his concept, presenting Kat Penkin as the eponymous Underdog, facing a single, powrful audience member.

Capturing strong, characterful aspects of Penkin’s performance, and guiding the viewer through the experience through the visual language he creates, with the help of David Witchell’s bold cinematography and Katie Linard’s grade, it's a very polished piece of work.