Every Brilliant Thing Archives

Every Brilliant Thing (Minnie Driver) – Soho Place Theatre

23Oct

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Every Brilliant Thing (Minnie Driver) – Soho Place Theatre

With a premise like the one mentioned for Every Brilliant Thing, it is seldom that one can go through the entire play without feeling a sense of alienation from the theme in an attempt to keep oneself safe from the seriousness of it. But Every Brilliant Thing amalgamates the journey of a seven-year-old child grappling with her mum’s depression and suicide attempts with such tenderness and light humour that one can’t help but simply connect completely with the whole of it, while holding a smile through it all. The narrator (Minnie Driver) starts writing down every brilliant thing about the world at seven, a list that continues well into her adulthood, hoping to change her mother’s perspective on life. Driver brings a sense of sublime charisma to the character, inviting her audience i...

Every Brilliant Thing (with Sue Perkins) – Sohoplace

11Sep

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Every Brilliant Thing (with Sue Perkins) – Sohoplace

‘Every Brilliant Thing’ is a play that makes you feel alive in the deepest sense. Staged in the round at the stunning @sohoplace Theatre, it invites the audience to sit close enough to feel part of the story, the circular setting removing any distance between performer and spectator, turning the theatre into a shared living room where every glance and every laugh travels instantly across the space. This intimacy is more than a design choice, it allows the production to draw everyone into its gentle exploration of joy, grief, and the tiny moments that give life meaning. From the very first words, you sense that what unfolds will not be a typical night at the theatre but a collective experience of listening, feeling, and remembering together. With Sue Perkins at the centre, the evening be...

23Aug

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Every Brilliant Thing – Soho Place

Every Brilliant Thing was created by Duncan Macmillan and Johnny Donahoe and was first performed at the Edinburgh fringe in 2014 and has since been performed by many artists in 80 countries around the world. This is the first time that it has had a performance in London’s West End. It still has the feel of a fringe performance with a solo actor performing with no set dressing and largely without props and involving the audience in the performance. It works well in the intimate theatre in the round auditorium at Sohoplace. Another feature of this production is that it is to be performed by five different actors on different nights during its run. At Press Night it was the turn of Johnny Donahoe, who has performed it many times and his familiarity with the material...

9Aug

By Ralph JeffreysNo Comments

London

Every Brilliant Thing – @sohoplace

Every Brilliant Thing is a sweet, but ultimately flawed, play about depression, suicide and trying to get on with life. Stemming originally from a monologue written by Duncan Macmillan and developed with co-author Jonny Donahoe, the play is about a child dealing with their mother’s suicidal depression by creating a list of all the brilliant things that make life worth living. As the character grows older, the list takes on new meanings as they deal with their own depression. The show is at its best when its performer, Lenny Henry, is left to do crowd work, finding lots of humour in the script and playing the room brilliantly. The text frequently calls for audience members to play key characters in our protagonist’s life: his dad, the vet who put his dog down, his first love, Sam. Hen...

Every Brilliant Thing – Roundabout @ Summerhall

9Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Every Brilliant Thing – Roundabout @ Summerhall

Every Brilliant Thing, by Duncan MacMillan and Jonny Donahue is back and goes straight in at number one on my list of brilliant things. And with Donahue himself performing it, this is better than ice cream. Like a prodigal son returning from distant shores, the womb-like space that is The Roundhouse, at Summerhall, welcomes back, Every Brilliant Thing, a play that has globe trotted after it’s first showing here in 2014. And the public cannot get enough of it, it is completely sold out, with two additional dates already added (sold out) but surely more to follow. (Check the Fringe web site, every five minutes!) It’s one of those shows that it’s best to know nothing about before you see it. I am therefore going for the mysterious, enigmatic vibe on this one. Lets just say it is the...

Every Brilliant Thing – Theatre by the Lake

20Sep

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

Every Brilliant Thing – Theatre by the Lake

Ours is an open society, where we can talk about everything - well almost everything. The final taboos are around death, dying and suicide writes Karen Morley-Chesworth. However, Theatre by the Lake's current production Every Brilliant Thing shines a light brightly on these topics in a way that feels safe, welcoming and supported. From the moment you approach the theatre, things look different - with each brilliant thing people have been invited to share emblazoned across walls, pillars, windows... each with its own unique number. There are warm orange and white fairy lights, a welcome mat and plenty of additional information around the bars and entrance about mental health support and suicide prevention. This one-act one-man play tells the story from a son's perspective of ...