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Every Brilliant Thing
You're six years old. Mum's in hospital. Dad says she's 'done something stupid'. She finds it hard to be happy.
So you start to make a list of everything that's brilliant about the world. Everything that's worth living for.
1. Ice Cream
2. Kung Fu Movies
3. Burning Things
4. Laughing so hard you shoot milk out your nose
5. Construction cranes
6. Me
You leave it on her pillow. You know she's read it because she's corrected your spelling. Soon, the list will take on a life of its own.
A new play about depression and the lengths we will go to for those we love.
So you start to make a list of everything that's brilliant about the world. Everything that's worth living for.
1. Ice Cream
2. Kung Fu Movies
3. Burning Things
4. Laughing so hard you shoot milk out your nose
5. Construction cranes
6. Me
You leave it on her pillow. You know she's read it because she's corrected your spelling. Soon, the list will take on a life of its own.
A new play about depression and the lengths we will go to for those we love.
96 pages, Paperback
First published April 7, 2015
52 people are currently reading
1253 people want to read
About the author
Duncan Macmillan
61 books69 followersThis page is for the English playwright. For the Scottish art historian, see Duncan Macmillan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 186 reviews
February 28, 2022
If you live a long life and get to the end of it without ever once having felt crushingly depressed, then you probably haven’t been paying attention.
Every Brilliant Thing ~~ Duncan Macmillan
BRILLIANT ... this certainly describes Duncan Macmillan's Every Brilliant Thing. This is one of a handful of scripts that has made me cry while reading it. Not because I found it to be sad, but because it made me feel so fucking good.
At its core, theatre is meant to be a communal experience. At its best, theatre should act as a tonic that reminds us we're all in this together, and none of us are alone. I'm not talking about kumbayas and group hugs; I'm talking about something real.
In Every Brilliant Thing, writers Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe's audience-interactive play the audience is very much on the hook as they are called upon to play bit parts, shout out lines, and ~~ for one audience member ~~ remove their sock and fashion it into a sock puppet. Every Brilliant Thing is truly that communal experience.
Every Brilliant Thing is a play about depression and suicide designed to make us feel better
~~ not about dying, but about living. The title refers to a list of everything that makes life worth living. The Narrator starts it as a seven-year-old child after his mother’s first suicide attempt and continues with some interruptions throughout the ups and downs of his own life.
The Narrator is written so warm and engagingly, we easily believe he’s telling his own story. We first meet him as he wanders thru the audience prior to curtain; during this time he gauges the audience. He then gives selected audience members an object with a number and description on it. He asks the audience member to read the description when he calls out the number during the show.
The numbers called out refer to items on the list, beginning with #1, ice cream. As they go up, the audience participation not only contributes to the storytelling, it also builds a sense of community. Several people are called upon to take part in brief scenes, portraying the Narrator’s father, a veterinarian, a guidance counselor, a favorite author, his girlfriend, then wife, among others. As written by Macmillan, the narrator guides them nicely but allows for improvisation, which can lead to some amusing and touching theatre.
The Narrator doesn’t shy away from painful experiences but often puts a slightly humorous or self-aware spin on those experiences. An early story about having to have his dog, Sherlock Bones, put to sleep ~~ with a jacket as the pup and an audience member as the vet ~~ sets the tone, especially when the vet can’t tell one part of the dog from another.
While the growing list ranges from simple ~~ getting to stay up late and watch tv; to profoundly silly ~~ feeling comfortable enough with someone to ask them if you have broccoli in your teeth ~~ many of the incidents are very poignant. The child’s efforts to cheer up his mother are rebuffed. His relationship with his taciturn father is problematic. His romance follows the course of many romances, but his marriage becomes troubled, plagued it seems by his own depression, though it’s not too explicitly spelled out.
And yet, as the Narrator leaves the stage, we are left with a tremendous sense of joy the journey that lies ahead of him ...
Every Brilliant Thing ~~ Duncan Macmillan
BRILLIANT ... this certainly describes Duncan Macmillan's Every Brilliant Thing. This is one of a handful of scripts that has made me cry while reading it. Not because I found it to be sad, but because it made me feel so fucking good.
At its core, theatre is meant to be a communal experience. At its best, theatre should act as a tonic that reminds us we're all in this together, and none of us are alone. I'm not talking about kumbayas and group hugs; I'm talking about something real.
In Every Brilliant Thing, writers Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe's audience-interactive play the audience is very much on the hook as they are called upon to play bit parts, shout out lines, and ~~ for one audience member ~~ remove their sock and fashion it into a sock puppet. Every Brilliant Thing is truly that communal experience.
Every Brilliant Thing is a play about depression and suicide designed to make us feel better
~~ not about dying, but about living. The title refers to a list of everything that makes life worth living. The Narrator starts it as a seven-year-old child after his mother’s first suicide attempt and continues with some interruptions throughout the ups and downs of his own life.
The Narrator is written so warm and engagingly, we easily believe he’s telling his own story. We first meet him as he wanders thru the audience prior to curtain; during this time he gauges the audience. He then gives selected audience members an object with a number and description on it. He asks the audience member to read the description when he calls out the number during the show.
The numbers called out refer to items on the list, beginning with #1, ice cream. As they go up, the audience participation not only contributes to the storytelling, it also builds a sense of community. Several people are called upon to take part in brief scenes, portraying the Narrator’s father, a veterinarian, a guidance counselor, a favorite author, his girlfriend, then wife, among others. As written by Macmillan, the narrator guides them nicely but allows for improvisation, which can lead to some amusing and touching theatre.
The Narrator doesn’t shy away from painful experiences but often puts a slightly humorous or self-aware spin on those experiences. An early story about having to have his dog, Sherlock Bones, put to sleep ~~ with a jacket as the pup and an audience member as the vet ~~ sets the tone, especially when the vet can’t tell one part of the dog from another.
While the growing list ranges from simple ~~ getting to stay up late and watch tv; to profoundly silly ~~ feeling comfortable enough with someone to ask them if you have broccoli in your teeth ~~ many of the incidents are very poignant. The child’s efforts to cheer up his mother are rebuffed. His relationship with his taciturn father is problematic. His romance follows the course of many romances, but his marriage becomes troubled, plagued it seems by his own depression, though it’s not too explicitly spelled out.
And yet, as the Narrator leaves the stage, we are left with a tremendous sense of joy the journey that lies ahead of him ...
July 19, 2018
This was a re-read for me, after seeing the 'brilliant' HBO production, starring the incomparable Jonny Donahue. I wanted to revisit the text as it provides some nice footnotes detailing things which have happened in production that are not necessarily 'following the script'. Still one of the most fascinating 'audience participation' pieces I've ever read/seen performed ... and I can't praise it highly enough.
September 5, 2023
Absofuckinglutely brilliant! Normally, I HATE any performance that requires audience interaction/participation, and this is probably the riskiest script I have ever read (since it depends to large extent on the audience members not only being cooperative, but also skilled at taking directions, improvising and being 'in the moment'). I don't envy the actor who is brave enough to undertake this, but would love to see it performed sometime.
HBO filmed it with original star Jonny Donahue and he is incredibly talented:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObxJ0...
HBO filmed it with original star Jonny Donahue and he is incredibly talented:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObxJ0...
Read
February 5, 2025Right…and how do you expect me to be normal after reading this?
January 6, 2018
sorry but I'm crying
September 15, 2020
You know how sometimes you just start crying in the middle of reading something and then like just keep crying for most of the rest of it because the floodgates have opened and what the author is saying is hitting you in just the right way? This happened to me halfway through Every Brilliant Thing.
June 11, 2023
2021: I got the book today. I wasn't planning on reading it already, but I flipped through some pages and when I realised I had finished it. It's so beautiful and funny and sad.
February 27, 2021
Oh it's so lovely! If I had a list of every brilliant thing, this would for sure be on it :)
There's a performance on HBO if you want to see!
I bought some modern plays and a collected set of Duncan MacMillan popped up on Amazon. I hadn't heard of him but many of his other plays had already been recommended to me so I thought, yeah sure why not! I mean what's a play that's so bad you can't read it? Titus Andronicus is one of the worst plays I can think of and I read that, haha! And how likely is it that a guy who has a "collected plays" with, what I imagine is a good publisher, can't write? You know? Whatever.
Anyway the book (the collected plays I mean) has turned out to be a total treat :) It totally mirrors my own concerns and the types of messages I want to hear. If I could sum up the messages gathered from the plays I read in it so far they are "The planet is dying, there are many evil people here but also, though I don't know why, don't kill yourself." I suppose that tells you more about me than the plays to be honest!
I don't think anyone knows why life has to be so difficult but it's nice and enough sometimes just to acknowledge that it is. And the audience participation of the play really embodies how connectedness can become an antidote to depression, and for once does something that only a play can do! Every other play I'm like, "I'll just read it or wait until there's a film of it" hahaha
There's a performance on HBO if you want to see!
I bought some modern plays and a collected set of Duncan MacMillan popped up on Amazon. I hadn't heard of him but many of his other plays had already been recommended to me so I thought, yeah sure why not! I mean what's a play that's so bad you can't read it? Titus Andronicus is one of the worst plays I can think of and I read that, haha! And how likely is it that a guy who has a "collected plays" with, what I imagine is a good publisher, can't write? You know? Whatever.
Anyway the book (the collected plays I mean) has turned out to be a total treat :) It totally mirrors my own concerns and the types of messages I want to hear. If I could sum up the messages gathered from the plays I read in it so far they are "The planet is dying, there are many evil people here but also, though I don't know why, don't kill yourself." I suppose that tells you more about me than the plays to be honest!
I don't think anyone knows why life has to be so difficult but it's nice and enough sometimes just to acknowledge that it is. And the audience participation of the play really embodies how connectedness can become an antidote to depression, and for once does something that only a play can do! Every other play I'm like, "I'll just read it or wait until there's a film of it" hahaha
March 6, 2024
Crying in the office. Way way way better on a reread.
December 30, 2022
I have noticed that this is one of the few reviews awarded less than five stars to this play.
It is about depression and suicide.
Creatively rendered but this reader remained unmoved.
It is about depression and suicide.
Creatively rendered but this reader remained unmoved.
October 23, 2025
After an audition a week ago, I learned today that I have been cast to be the narrator in this one actor play, put on by the Bowdoin theater department this spring. I was surprised to get the part, but could not be more excited to work with such a rich piece of writing. The play has a fixed general structure with improvised scenes throughout, incorporating audience engagement. I will get to tell stories about my (the narrator’s) life, using audience members as scene partners to recount childhood memories. The play is happy, sad, funny, and everything in between, keeping you on your toes. Extremely wholesome, to say the least. I cannot wait to get started and look forward to continuing my aesthetic education.
Brilliant Things:
1. Acting
2. Senior Fall
3. Clean Sheets
4. Banana w/Nutella
5. Liberal Arts!
Brilliant Things:
1. Acting
2. Senior Fall
3. Clean Sheets
4. Banana w/Nutella
5. Liberal Arts!
October 5, 2024
231: Theater. 232: Laughter. 233: Empathy. 234: Plays that make you laugh and care for others.
Read
August 10, 2024Saw this solo play at the Edinburgh Fringe today and it was fantastic! A touching blend of humour and emotion.
February 4, 2025
I saw this on stage yesterday starring the incomparable John O'Hurley of Seinfeld/Mr. Peterman fame. Mr. O'Hurley is no doubt on the uplifting list of life's brilliant things. Tragically, there's an alternate list that's just as long, that's not uplifting at all.
February 4, 2024
Είχα χρόνια να πάω σε θεατρική παράσταση και στο τέλος αυτής να δω θεατές δακρυσμένους. Η Ελένη Ράντου έχει πάρει το ομώνυμο έργο και το έχει απογειώσει.
Από τότε που είδα την παράσταση έψαχνα το πρωτότυπο κείμενο. Ένα βιβλιαράκι 50 σελίδων που όταν τελείωσα απορούσα πώς δεν είναι ευρέως γνωστό. Αφηγήτρια ένα κορίτσι που μας εξιστορεί την ζωή του απο την ηλικία των 7 ετών ως την ενηλικίωση της. Το κορίτσι βιώνε�� τις απόπειρες αυτοκτονίες της μητέρας της
και για να προστατευτεί αρχίζει να συντάσσει μια λίστα με όλα τα απλα πράγματα στην ζωή για τα οποία αξίζει κανένας να ζει. Η μικρή ενηλικιώνεται όπως και η λίστα της και μέσα από αυτην την ενηλικίωση μεγαλώνουμε και μαθαίνουμε και εμείς. Αλήθεια τι μας κάνει ευτυχισμένους; Ένα παγωτό χωνάκι, η μυρωδιά των μωρών, να κάνεις μπάνιο στην θάλασσα γυμνός, να ακούς τον Kurt Cobain να τραγουδάει " the man who sold the world ", ένα βράδυ Τετάρτης με φίλους, πίτσες και champion league; Η επιλογή ποικίλλει ανάλογα τα άτομα, το φύλο, την ηλικία και αυτό λίγη σημασία έχει.
Η ιστορία, τα μηνύματα και ο τρόπος που μας δίνονται με συγκίνησε βαθιά ,όμως εδώ οφείλω να πω ότι η Ράντου -που δεν της το είχα καθόλου- μέσα απο την προσθήκη προσωπικών βιωμάτων λόγω της ιστορίας με τη μητέρα της, έχει πάει την ιστορία και τη ...."λίστα των πραγμάτων που αξίζει να ζεις" σε άλλο επίπεδο. Δεν έχω λόγια ούτε για την παράσταση ούτε για το αρχικό κείμενο.
Υγ όταν ακούσαμε τον τελευταίο αριθμό της λίστας στο θέατρο, που είναι διαφορετικός από αυτόν στο αρχικό κείμενο, στερεψαμε από χαρτομάντιλα ....
Από τότε που είδα την παράσταση έψαχνα το πρωτότυπο κείμενο. Ένα βιβλιαράκι 50 σελίδων που όταν τελείωσα απορούσα πώς δεν είναι ευρέως γνωστό. Αφηγήτρια ένα κορίτσι που μας εξιστορεί την ζωή του απο την ηλικία των 7 ετών ως την ενηλικίωση της. Το κορίτσι βιώνε�� τις απόπειρες αυτοκτονίες της μητέρας της
και για να προστατευτεί αρχίζει να συντάσσει μια λίστα με όλα τα απλα πράγματα στην ζωή για τα οποία αξίζει κανένας να ζει. Η μικρή ενηλικιώνεται όπως και η λίστα της και μέσα από αυτην την ενηλικίωση μεγαλώνουμε και μαθαίνουμε και εμείς. Αλήθεια τι μας κάνει ευτυχισμένους; Ένα παγωτό χωνάκι, η μυρωδιά των μωρών, να κάνεις μπάνιο στην θάλασσα γυμνός, να ακούς τον Kurt Cobain να τραγουδάει " the man who sold the world ", ένα βράδυ Τετάρτης με φίλους, πίτσες και champion league; Η επιλογή ποικίλλει ανάλογα τα άτομα, το φύλο, την ηλικία και αυτό λίγη σημασία έχει.
Η ιστορία, τα μηνύματα και ο τρόπος που μας δίνονται με συγκίνησε βαθιά ,όμως εδώ οφείλω να πω ότι η Ράντου -που δεν της το είχα καθόλου- μέσα απο την προσθήκη προσωπικών βιωμάτων λόγω της ιστορίας με τη μητέρα της, έχει πάει την ιστορία και τη ...."λίστα των πραγμάτων που αξίζει να ζεις" σε άλλο επίπεδο. Δεν έχω λόγια ούτε για την παράσταση ούτε για το αρχικό κείμενο.
Υγ όταν ακούσαμε τον τελευταίο αριθμό της λίστας στο θέατρο, που είναι διαφορετικός από αυτόν στο αρχικό κείμενο, στερεψαμε από χαρτομάντιλα ....
September 7, 2025
This is an amazing and important play which is a short one but really effective. It's about a person who starts making a list of "every brilliant thing" in the world to help their mother, who is struggling with sadness/depression.
It's a mix of funny, sad, and very hopeful moments. It talks about serious topics like depression and finding joy in the small things in life. I must say I would like to see the play one day. İt looks amazing.
It has a powerful story that reminds you that even on the hardest days, there are so many brilliant things in the world.
It's a mix of funny, sad, and very hopeful moments. It talks about serious topics like depression and finding joy in the small things in life. I must say I would like to see the play one day. İt looks amazing.
It has a powerful story that reminds you that even on the hardest days, there are so many brilliant things in the world.
July 10, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5
Play #2 this year complete. Gosh that was everything! So many things said in such a short amount of time. It would be so interesting to see this show each night with different audience contributions. I loved reading about how the audience would react differently each night. I can just imagine how it would look onstage and how it would feel to be in the room.
Thank you Conner for lending me this play :)
Play #2 this year complete. Gosh that was everything! So many things said in such a short amount of time. It would be so interesting to see this show each night with different audience contributions. I loved reading about how the audience would react differently each night. I can just imagine how it would look onstage and how it would feel to be in the room.
Thank you Conner for lending me this play :)
January 15, 2023
i cried.
this was amazing and i wish i could actually see this play live. i would also like to read the whole list if i could.
1 000 001. books/plays/art like this one that simply alter your brain chemistry
1 000 002. the subtle distortion a tear creates on the words of a written page
1 000 003. reading a book front to back in one sitting
1 000 004. sharing reads like this with other people
this was amazing and i wish i could actually see this play live. i would also like to read the whole list if i could.
1 000 001. books/plays/art like this one that simply alter your brain chemistry
1 000 002. the subtle distortion a tear creates on the words of a written page
1 000 003. reading a book front to back in one sitting
1 000 004. sharing reads like this with other people
March 18, 2025
Macmillan is brilliant, as always.
My favourite from the list:
253263. The feeling of calm which follows the realisation that, although you may be in a regrettable situation, there’s nothing you can do about it.
My favourite from the list:
253263. The feeling of calm which follows the realisation that, although you may be in a regrettable situation, there’s nothing you can do about it.
March 10, 2024
the other day I was (foolishly) telling someone I don't understand why one would READ a play. I'm such an idiot.this is one of the most beautiful things I've ever read in my entire life
April 3, 2018
I saw a production of this play and loved it so much I decided I needed a physical copy of the text. The play is a one-person show, with audience members drafted to play additional roles as needed, and the print edition includes lots of footnotes about ways these interactions played out in the initial run, which is a little bit like having the DVD commentary, and which would also be very helpful when staging a production.
This is a wonderful story about hope and gratitude and joy (and also sorrow and loss and pain) and I am so glad it made its way into my life.
This is a wonderful story about hope and gratitude and joy (and also sorrow and loss and pain) and I am so glad it made its way into my life.
February 20, 2020
The saying goes that someone can not truly understand something until it touches their heart and this play helps with that. With actual audience participation, this play places us right in the moment. I wonderful script and idea.
July 23, 2016
stunning
May 29, 2017
It is theatre at its best.
Sensible treatment of an extremely sensitive subject.
It touches the core of your heart and compels you to live a full llife.
Sensible treatment of an extremely sensitive subject.
It touches the core of your heart and compels you to live a full llife.
February 9, 2020
A child makes a list of all the things worth living for, for his suicidal mother.
Didn’t grab me. At the end of the day it was just that: a list of things.
Didn’t grab me. At the end of the day it was just that: a list of things.
June 23, 2020
“If you live a long life and get to the end of it without ever once having felt crushingly depressed, then you probably haven’t been paying attention.”
Duncan MacMillan, Every Brilliant Thing
Duncan MacMillan, Every Brilliant Thing
May 24, 2020
My favourite bit about this play was the 13 personalised entries of brilliant things Kate wrote for me.
1000014: Friends who let you know they love you in unexpected way
1000014: Friends who let you know they love you in unexpected way
February 27, 2021
More than a play it is a group therapy session on family and caring. Also, it is how I remembered
Some Things Last a Long Time
and how I discovered
Maureen
. So many brilliant things.
Скоро и на българска сцена – да живее театър „Реплика“! :)
Скоро и на българска сцена – да живее театър „Реплика“! :)
January 20, 2025
This year my goal is to read a play each month. I had seen this on somebody’s list and it sounded interesting, so I wanted it to be my first for the year.
It’s very hard to portray a sense of joy when dealing with such heavy subject matter. But there is something so beautiful about this little story that you cannot help but smile at it.
There is a wonderful recorded performance of this on HBOMAX, so if you don’t want to sit down and read this, I would highly recommend watching it there
It’s very hard to portray a sense of joy when dealing with such heavy subject matter. But there is something so beautiful about this little story that you cannot help but smile at it.
There is a wonderful recorded performance of this on HBOMAX, so if you don’t want to sit down and read this, I would highly recommend watching it there
August 1, 2020
Es una obra perfecta. Cuando leo, marco las páginas que más me van gustando doblando la esquina superior de la página y, si ya la había doblado al leer la primera cara pero en la segunda cara también encuentro algo, doblo la inferior. He doblado casi todas las esquinas del libro. Me he reído mucho y me ha roto un poco el corazón. Si dudas si leerlo o no, léelo.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 186 reviews