I am a big Daniel Radcliffe fan, which goes a long way when assessing Every Brilliant Thing. He stars in a very short (70 minute), one-man show where he plays a character confronting suicide and depression of a parent. One way of handling the family dynamics is creating a list of brilliant things. This is an audience participation show. Beforehand, he and/or the production staff have tagged members of the audience throughout the theater to shout out “the thing” when he yells out their number. For example, Radcliffe would yell out the number 237 and from the balcony a voice booms out “the thing,” which could be anything such as ice cream, a walk in the park, etc. There is on-stage seating for the production, and the actor also chooses people to play parts with him – a university teacher, his father, his lover. I was quite impressed with the caliber these “guest” performers brought to the show.
The show, written by Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahue, is fast-clipped and provides an interesting premise, but it is a slim work with no new ground covered. The Directors – Jeremy Herrin and MacMillan – keep the pacing sharp and swift. Radcliffe, at times, is all over the theater, including the mezzanine (I even got a high-five when he ran up the aisle.)
Every Brilliant Thing works because of Radcliffe, with his earnest charm and boundless energy. You want to cheer as he riffs with members of the audience; you want him to succeed as he recounts his family’s troubled life and the sad, but predictable conclusion.
An entertaining piece of theater, but mostly for die-hard fans of the actor, whose run ends on May 24.
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