EVERY BRILLIANT THING
october 1-10, 2027
Written by Duncan Macmillan with John Donahoe
Directed by JC Clementz
About the show
Run Time: 75 mins
No Intermission
Cast: 1 Actor
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Setting: A Theater
Themes: Love, Loss, Hope
Every Brilliant Thing opens with a mother’s suicide attempt and her seven-year-old’s subsequent search to understand it and help lift her depression by documenting the joys all around them. Starting with the basics, like ice cream and the color yellow, the list is maintained throughout their lifetime and highlights the narrator’s ever-changing view of what is beautiful about the world as they reach adulthood. This interactive solo show incorporates audience participation.
content
advisory
Due to the high volume and wide breadth of work we present, we are often not able to proactively offer content advisories for individual performances. However, if you have specific concerns about stage effects (such as strobe lights or fog/haze) that might have a bearing on comfort or well-being, or if you would like to know more about the age appropriateness of the performance, please contact us at (515) 309-0251 or business@iowastage.org
ACcessible
performances
Audio Described and ASL- interpreted Public Performance :
Sunday, October 3, 2027 at 2:00 PM
For more information visit: https://www.desmoinesperformingarts.org/whats-on/calendar?Accessibility=ASL+Signed+Performance
ACCOLADES ON THE PLAY
Nominee: 2026 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
Winner! 2015 Drama Desk Award for Best Play
Nominee: 2015 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show
MEDIA ON THE PLAY
“An uplifting play about depression… a global phenomenon.” – The Guardian
“Every Brilliant Thing finds a perfect balance between conveying the struggles of life, and celebrating all that is sweet in it.” – The Independent
“What Macmillan offers, with great sensitivity behind the abundant laughs, is a child’s fierce, flawed attempt to make sense of adult unhappiness and a meditation on the shadow that a loved one’s depression casts over the lives of a family.” – Evening Standard (London)
“Every Brilliant Thing is sad, but it is also gloriously funny and exceptionally warm. It’s a show that spells out a little of what depression can do to people, but it also highlights the irrepressible resilience of the human spirit.” – Time Out London
Cast & Creative team
coming soon
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