The Funniest Play About Depression—And the One That Might Just Save Lives

In 2009 at Latitude, I—along with hundreds of others—participated in an installation that invited festival-goers to write down something that made life worth living. I remember writing something about kissing my daughters’ toes. That installation was but one early manifestation of what eventually became a show called Every Brilliant Thing, written by Duncan Macmillan—who went on to write People, Places and Things—with Jonny Donahoe.

The premise is simple: a solo performer tells the story of a small child whose mother tries to end her own life. The child wants to provide her with reasons to keep on living, so they start compiling a list of every brilliant thing, whether it's ice cream or people falling over or laughing so hard you shoot milk out of your nose. The child grows older, the mother is still suicidal, so they add to the list in a bid to keep her alive. Then as they become an adult, it becomes apparent that the growing list is as much for the now adult child to navigate their way into being happy as it is for her.

Sue Perkins will play the child on selected dates.

But it’s not actually a solo show. Every Brilliant Thing’s coup de theatre is the way it co-ops willing members of the audience (you don’t have to join in if you are shy) to take part in the show from their seats, playing characters and reading bits of the script at key moments. The result is an act of democracy that makes the show a communal venture, as if we are working together, intent on keeping the living alive through a magical act of theatrical transformation. It is theatre at its simplest and most profound.

In the versions I’ve seen, the solo performer has always been Jonny Donahoe, the role’s originator and the man whom Macmillan has credited with transforming the structure of a piece that before it was an installation had been a short story. He said in an interview, “When Donahoe came on board, the form changed. His skill at working with audiences suddenly opened up the heart of the play to include everyone in the room in a way that hadn’t really been done before.” In August @sohoplace is hosting a remount of the show in which four performers—Donahoe, Lenny Henry, Ambika Mod, and Sue Perkins—will be alternating the role of the child. The newcomers should have necessary comic timing and warmth of relationship with the audience to make the play fully alive.

Jonny Donahoe, the role’s originator will play the child on selected dates.

The show had its national premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2014, when mental health was significantly less discussed in public than it is now. I wrote that it was one of the funniest plays you’ll ever see about depression. I was completely wrong. It is the funniest play that you will ever see about depression. Macmillan has said, “The gesture behind the show is to find the way to talk about the most serious things you can talk about in a way that isn’t serious.”

I am confident that it has saved lives, and you can’t say that about many plays. I have a friend, prone to depression, who, after seeing it, bought a copy so they could always be reminded of all the brilliant things whenever the going gets tough.

Ambika Mod will play the child on selected dates.

That reflects what MacMillan said about the piece shortly after its premiere and how his impetus was to remind, “You’re not alone, you’re not weird, you will get through it, and you’ve just got to hold on,” adding that at the time, “I didn’t see anyone discussing suicidal depression in a useful or interesting or accurate way.”

Now, of course, there is a plethora of art about mental health. The upcoming Edinburgh Fringe has dozens of shows exploring mental health and depression. But Every Brilliant Thing remains not just a landmark play that has been performed in 80 countries but a brightly shining beacon of theatrical hope that at every performance reminds us that there are so many brilliant reasons to keep on living. Rollercoasters and the colour yellow included.

Cover photo from Every Brilliant Thing, playing at @sohoplace from Fri 1 Aug - Sat 27 Sep. Book your tickets via our website or app.

Please note, this is a one person play and the cast will perform in rotation. Please check to see who will be performing at your chosen date.