Every Brilliant Thing

Less than a year later, Every Brilliant Thing makes a great return visit to the Belvoir stage but, instead of being a one-woman show (with Kate Mulvany), it’s now headed by a man. Steve Rodgers has only recently been playing the grumpy Walter Matthau role in The Odd Couple at the Ensemble. Here he’s the opposite: kindly and compassionate, uncertain of the future, clutching desperately to every brilliant thing about life that he can imagine.

Perhaps it’s unwise to call it a one-person play. In fact it wouldn’t exist without an active, attentive audience ready to join its lead actor/actress on his her journey of discovery. The entire structure of the Belvoir has been altered: it’s a theatre-in-the-round experience and the houselights never go down throughout. 

Steve Rodgers, friendly and affable, has been handing out coloured cards from 10 minutes before the start and generally getting the audience onside. These cards are vital: Rodgers says they were begun when he was seven years old and he became aware that his troubled mother was suicidal. They list all the brilliant things about living.

For instance – and here the audience joins in as he calls out numbers – there are ‘Watching things grow’ and ‘Wombats’ and ‘Surprises’ and the word ‘Plinth’. As the boy grows, so the concepts get more complex. ‘Falling in love’ becomes a brilliant thing.

And members of the audience play more complex roles – a caring teacher, an animal doctor, a lover. All are treated with respect. The funniest play you’ll ever see about depression genuinely embraces the whole audience. 

Directed by Kate Champion, this 80-minute show comes with a layered soundtrack and a wonderfully engaging performance from Rodgers. It fully acknowledges our presence and, indeed, couldn’t happen if we didn’t contribute our imaginations to the show. It’s a truly brilliant thing.

Frank Hatherley

Photographer: Brett Boardman