Duncan Macmillan’s Every Brilliant Thing has been slowly inching towards the West End for over a decade now. Although it won instant Fringe acclaim, the show – about an unnamed narrator whose life’s work is a list of all the good things in the world – has always seemed too intimate to scale up, so has instead spread around, adapted for a vast array of countries, cultures and languages, from Arabic to Mandarin and all points in between.
@sohoplace is where it finally makes its West End debut, and the relatively intimate, in-the-round venue feels like the perfect spot for maintaining the all-important closeness between performer and an audience often called upon to help out.
The show has experienced various UK permutations over the years – Macmillan himself directed last year’s tenth anniversary revival, and this will be a co-direct between Macmillan and the more seasoned director Jeremy Herrin. But the big selling point is the casting. The show’s co-creator and regular British star Jonny Donahoe will again perform; but so will three other actors: Ambika Mod, Sue Perkins, and the one and only Lenny Henry will split the run. The actors will perform in rep, with Henry and Donahoe performing throughout August (Henry will understandably tackle the lion’s share) and a more even split between Mod and Perkins in September. All information on who is performing can be found when you book.
