{"id":418634,"date":"2025-09-12T14:18:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T14:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/418634\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T14:18:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T14:18:12","slug":"every-brilliant-thing-starring-ambika-mod-sohoplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/418634\/","title":{"rendered":"EVERY BRILLIANT THING, Starring Ambika Mod, @sohoplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Review:Content warnings:<\/strong> Mentions of depression and suicide<\/p>\n

When the West End run of Every Brilliant Thing<\/a> was announced, I was sceptical. I’d seen it last year in Edinburgh, in the intimate Roundabout tent, performed by co-creator Jonny Donahoe<\/a>. Taking it to the West End, with a rotating star cast, felt like a bold move \u2013 but, for the most part, it\u2019s one that\u2019s really paid off.<\/p>\n

For those unfamiliar with the play, Every Brilliant Thing<\/a> follows our unnamed narrator through their life as they deal with their mother\u2019s clinical depression. As a child, they begin to compose a list of \u2018brilliant things\u2019: experiences and items, such as watching someone just make their train, or dancing, or ice cream, that make life worth living. Uniquely, these brilliant things are read out by the audience, from cards that are distributed before the show begins. The result is a truly communal theatre experience, connecting every person in the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ambika Mod<\/a>, of This Is Going to Hurt and One Day fame, is pretty perfect casting for the part. Exuding warmth and approachability, she handles the play\u2019s demands with the ideal balance of humanity and confidence, putting audiences immediately at ease. She never feels like she\u2019s fully playing a role, but rather telling a story. It can be easy to treat this show like straight stand-up, but Mod also nails the heavier moments, bringing out the light and shade that makes the play so special.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the biggest challenges of this play is its unpredictability – Mod\u2019s background in improv really comes into its own, as she charms with witty adlibs and crowd work. Her Every Brilliant Thing<\/a> often feels like getting a debrief from a close friend: every audience member is spoken to personally. Writer Duncan MacMillan<\/a> has also adapted the script for each performer in this version \u2013 Mod\u2019s version makes the story feel specific to her as a young POC woman, with quips about ASOS returns and white women keeping gratitude journals. This production really allows the actress to shine, combining her dramatic acting chops with her sketch and stand-up experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As far as West End venues go, @sohoplace is a fabulous fit \u2013 it\u2019s in the round, as this show needs to be, and directors MacMillan and Jeremy Herrin<\/a> make good use of the space\u2019s four walkways. Sound and lighting bring the show to added life, with bursts of soul music and a lovely little disco ball moment. There definitely is some magic lost from putting the show in a larger space, as a much lower proportion of the audience have cards to read, and some of the emotional pathos of the ending is also lost from the buzzy atmosphere of a West End press night. But it\u2019s still a wonderful bright spot of a show, and well worth a trip whether you\u2019ve seen it before or not.<\/p>\n

Finally in the West End ten years after its premiere, it can only be a good thing that more audiences will get to experience this absolute gem of a play.\u00a0Every Brilliant Thing<\/a> remains both timely and timeless, and offers a relatable, hopeful look at depression. And, remarkably, for a show about suicide, it\u2019s impossible not to leave with a smile on your face.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Every Brilliant Thing<\/a> runs at @sohoplace until 8 November, with the role shared between Ambika Mod<\/a> (until 26 Sep), Jonny Donahoe<\/a>,\u00a0<\/a>Lenny Henry<\/a>, Sue Perkins<\/a>, and Minnie Driver<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Reader Reviews<\/p>\n

To post a comment, you must register<\/a> and login<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Content warnings: Mentions of depression and suicide When the West End run of Every Brilliant Thing was announced,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,257,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-418634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-london","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115191762638776943","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}