Duncan MacMillan’s one-person play triumphs the search for hope in the art of list-making.
Can you capture the brilliance of the world in one list?
Duncan MacMillan’s critically acclaimed one-person play, starring actor and collaborator Jonny Donahoe, returns for a 10th anniversary production at the Roundabout at Summerhall. Just as much a pinnacle of theatre as when it was first written, this is a must-see production from one of the 21st century’s best playwrights.
“Every Brilliant Thing” is audience participation done right. Hardly used for purely comedic fair, the audience is first introduce to the play’s lead actor as Donahoe hands out numbered pieces of paper, stating a single brilliant thing each. The impact of these statements becomes apparent as the audience is encouraged to read them out across the play.
The piece follows Donahoe, an average man who relives his entire life from boyhood to the present. His mother struggles depression and suicidal tendencies, while his father is emotional distant. So he begins to create a list of all of the brilliant things in the world in an attempt to help his mother, but in the end the list takes on a power of its own.
The message of hope in dark times is simple but masterfully executed. The flow of the piece dips and dives from the highs of the best moments in life to the lowest of lows, making you feel both in equal measure. The use of music, namely that one Ray Charles song, takes on a larger meaning across the play. An audience could not feel more involved in the journey of a character if they tried.
MacMillan may be the masterful scribe of this piece, but Donahoe’s chemistry with the audience is a sight to behold. He will make you have a silly smile plastered across your face, but when it counts he will effortlessly hit you with a gut punch.
“Every Brilliant Thing” is a timeless, universal play about the challenges of existing through hardship and it will change your life.