Lenny Henry lights up @sohoplace in Every Brilliant Thing

Every Brilliant Thing | @sohoplace until 8th November

Lenny Henry turns a list of life’s joys into a funny, tender, and uplifting night in the theatre.

Lenny Henry leads this West End premiere of Every Brilliant Thing – a heartfelt one-man comedy – on an in-the-round stage at @sohoplace. Co-written by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe, the show debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe ten years ago and has since become a global phenomenon. (There’s even an HBO filmed adaptation starring Donahoe.)

Its premise is simple but powerful: in 1983 a seven-year-old boy compiles a “list of every brilliant thing” – from ice cream to water fights – to prove to his depressed mother that life is worth living. Crucially, the audience is invited to participate – audience members are handed numbered cue-cards, even recruited to play characters (a librarian, a teacher with a sock-puppet pet, his father etc).

I am averse to audience participation so was desperately avoiding eye contact before the show when he circulated dispensing the cards and recruiting the various “characters”, each performance is truly unique depending heavily on the willingness and abilities of those called on to play the various characters, which requires them to “perform”.

He even restarted the show several times when an audience volunteer fumbled at “number one” on the list, a reminder that the show leans on improvisation. And yet the serious message is never forgotten.

The effect is wonderful, although I could never completely relax!, the theatre hums with laughter and surprises as people shout out gems like “the awkward dance of non-verbally negotiating a hug” or “Mr Potato Head.” One meta moment occurred when Henry borrowed a book from an audience member which was a thriller by Julian Clary and read out the blurb cover, including a comment from Dawn French saying how funny the book was, to much warm laughter!

Behind the audience fun, Every Brilliant Thing grapples with dark themes of mental health and suicide. Henry’s nimble comedic instincts let him bounce from light banter to raw sincerity. As he later quips, we end up forming his little “support group.”

The play nods at the Werther effect (the risk of suicide contagion if the topic is mishandled), even noting how rates briefly spiked after Marilyn Monroe’s death. It does not shy away from blunt talk – one late line “if you’re thinking about suicide, don’t do it” feels almost trite but overall Every Brilliant Thing wraps these issues in warmth. By the final heartwarming finale (after an ultimately positive turn), the mood is affirming life is tough, but small joys and a caring community can help.

This Soho Place production is part of a rotating-cast series, with five actors scheduled in turn (among them Ambika Mod, Sue Perkins and Minnie Driver). I am intrigued to see how the show will play differently with all these different people with different abilities and skills and plan a return visit.

Henry commands the stage with his comedian’s gift for crowd-work, navigating the tonal shifts from cheeky to tender. If you’re happy to volunteer for audience participation and enjoy things being loose and spontaneous Every Brilliant Thing offers genuine warmth and wit, even if its optimism and positivity can sometimes feel a touch simplistic.

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[Image Credit | Production Shots | Every Brilliant Thing]

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