Jonny Donahoe on returning to 'Every Brilliant Thing' in the West End

Jonny Donahoe first performed Every Brilliant Thing 11 years ago at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Now he is returning to the show in the West End.

On and off over the past 11 years, comedian Jonny Donahoe (one half of the comedy band Jonny and the Baptists) has kept returning to the same show: Duncan Macmillan's Every Brilliant Thing. He first performed the one-person piece at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2014 and, since then, it has been staged in over 80 countries, from Greece, to Singapore, to Germany.

Macmillan's play follows a central narrator as they develop a list of every brilliant thing in life, after their mother attempts to commit suicide. As the narrator gets older and moves through different life stages, the list continues to grow and the entries becomes more nuanced and complex. What makes Every Brilliant Thing so fascinating, is that the audience is as much a part of this show as the narrator.

Donahoe speaks to LondonTheatre.co.uk about how he personally connects to Every Brilliant Thing and why he believes it is still so special to audiences.

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What is the most important message you want to convey about the narrator's experience in Every Brilliant Thing?

I believe the most important thing about the narrator is that they are — from the moment they walk on to that stage — a completely safe character. The audience trusts them, feels warmth, joy, and comfort with them. The narrator tells you a very difficult and traumatic story, but does so from a place of complete emotional safety. This character is someone who has worked on themselves — they have already started to deal with the trauma they talk about. It’s this safety that allows the audience to feel vulnerable and to be moved and engaged by the story. Hopefully this means the narrative is never manipulative. Instead it’s healing, cathartic, and hopeful. This story ends (essentially) very well. There is great tragedy in the story of Every Brilliant Thing, but our message is very simple: don’t ever give up.

⁠Do you connect personally with any of the themes that arise in the show?

Of course! I think it would be impossible to live in our society and not be aware of the prevalence of depression. You will in your lifetime either suffer from it, or experience someone you truly love going through it. Maybe even both. Co-creating the show with Duncan Macmillan over 10 years ago meant that a lot of personal feelings and experiences went into the discussion and the generation of the piece. But it isn’t a ‘true story’ — it's a made-up story that is built on many, many things that are inherently truthful.

⁠How do you think your interpretation will differ from your fellow actors during this run @sohoplace?

We’re obviously all very different people and these differences will be in each version of the show. One tiny example of this is that the text has been adapted to suit the performer. In the original version, it reflected the fact that I was seven years old in the 90s — but for Lenny that was the 60s, for Sue it was the 70s, and for Ambika it was the 2000s. So whilst I list ‘Super Mario Bros’ as a brilliant thing from my youth, for Lenny it’s ‘Mr Potato Head’.

Despite these differences, we’re all telling the same story, about a little kid and their mother, and a lifelong struggle to understand and deal with the ramifications of suicide and depression. And having such different people take on the role hopefully really highlights the universality of the narrative. We may do different things, but we all embody the same human struggle.

How has your previous performance experience prepared you for this role?

As a stand-up comedian, I love improvising and engaging with the room, and feeling like you are directly addressing a large group of people and trying to hold them all in the palm of your hand. Being able to do that is a vital part of the role, and that skill is useful for so many parts of the show. As an actor, you want to tell a brilliant story, and to be inherently honest and realistic. Doing both can be tricky at times — a bit like walking a tightrope — but it’s a pretty exhilarating experience for anyone who gets to play the part! It’s rare you get to do both of these things in one performance, but it’s a really magical feeling when it all comes together.

What makes this show so special?

I’ve always believed it's special because the central theatrical metaphor of Every Brilliant Thing is visible throughout the show. We can only deal with depression by being a community, by sharing things, and by not being alone.

From the start, the lights are up on the audience, we are in the round, and you can all see one another — we are a community. More and more throughout the play, the audience becomes involved in telling the story. I think the magic of the play is that we all get to be a part of it, rather than just witness it. This is both a beautiful experience to have at the theatre and a perfect metaphor for how to best live your life.

Jonny Donahoe returns to Every Brilliant Thing @sohoplace on 9 October. The show is being performed in rep by Lenny Henry, Donahoe, Ambika Mod, and Sue Perkins. Minnie Driver begins performances on 13 October.

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Photo credit: Jonny Donahoe in artwork for Every Brilliant Thing. (Courtesy of production)