Every Brilliant Thing

EVERY BRILLIANT THING
By Duncan Macmillan
With Jonny Donahoe
Directed by Traci Sprague
Starring Chris Hayhurst

You’re seven years old. Mom’s in the 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. Water fights.

#3. Staying up past your bedtime and being allowed to watch TV.

You leave it on her pillow, hoping. And you add to the list throughout your life.

Directed by Traci Sprague & starring Chris Hayhurst, this show brings a heartwarming, gorgeous, and self-aware look at the very serious topic of suicide and how it has a rippling long lasting impression on the people left in the wake. With moments of levity, this interactive play follows the life of a child who is affected by his mother’s attempts at ending her own life. It chronicles the journey that his family system makes as they navigate their pain, growth, and ultimately their attempt at rebirth. Hayhurst is charismatic as he tells a story that spans nearly three decades, performing with imagination and verve, charming audience members into acting opposite him, creating a rich feeling of community. Described as, “conversational (with emotions that) are raw and authentic. Audiences will find themselves laughing, crying, and waiting breathlessly to hear more.” Every Brilliant Thing asks the questions, “How do we intelligently and sensitively talk about death by suicide?” and “How do we navigate the loss in the aftermath?”

Don’t miss Every Brilliant Thing, the play that is sure to make you reflect on the things we all recognize but may not always say about being human.

Additional Resources

988 is the new, easy to remember three-digit dialing code connecting people to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), where support from trained crisis counselors is available 24/7 nationwide for any one experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis or any other emotional distress.

Three ways to access support:
Call 988
Text 988
Chat 988lifeline.org/chat

AFSP – American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – afsp.org

NAMI – National Alliance on Mental Illness – namimn.org

EVERY BRILLIANT THING is produced through special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.