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Review: EVERY BRILLIANT THING at @Sohoplace

Stuart King 22 October, 2025, 11:06

the unbelievers royal courtMinnie Driver in Every Brilliant Thing. Photo by Danny Kaan.

Duncan Macmillan, who co-directs Every Brilliant Thing with Jeremy Herrin, co-wrote and developed the play with Jonny Donahoe more than a decade ago. For the production at @sohoplace, Minnie Driver completes the run of performers, each of whom has brought their own inimitable personality and style to the show.

A youngster experiences trauma and confusion at the age of 7 when her mother first attempts suicide. In a bid to encourage her to focus on the wonderful things in life, she begins writing a list of Every Brilliant Thing which comes to mind, starting perhaps justifiably with ice cream. She then leaves the notes dotted around the house and other places, for her mother to find. It’s the sort of innocent, ahhh-inducing device which in the wrong hands could feel cloyingly saccharin and manipulative, but which here imbues proceedings with a naive collective charm. This is partly achieved through considerable audience involvement with pre-primed attendees being given cards to read out as list numbers are called, with a few making their way onto stage to act as a university professor, a vet and a former lover, among others.

The inherent randomness and variability of the format ensures that every show will be different, but the central themes of maintaining positivity in the face of adversity, and openness in recognising and dealing with mental health issues, remains integral and central to each performance.

As she progresses through life, the young woman’s list of simple and joyous things, runs to hundreds of thousands of entries, scribbled in books and stored in folders and boxes. When read aloud by audience members, they raise smiles and elicit knowing murmurs of recognition and appreciation. In one notable instance, a rambling and punctuated pseudo-intellectual student outpouring, generated applause and considerable laughter. Humanity is writ large throughout.

As Driver meanders through the narrative, it becomes subtly apparent that her father’s relatively constrained emotional input conspired from a young age to undermine her own emotional development. This manifests in arguments when her partner encourages her to seek professional help, and they separate for a period, causing the list to falter. Following a phone conversation with a sympathetic librarian from her school days - or more specifically, the sock puppet she uses to unlock emotional suppression, she begins identifying more wonders in life, and the list continues to a million entries, ending on an upbeat and uplifting note.

Running time 75 minutes without an interval. Continues with Minnie Driver in the central role until 8th November.

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