Every Brilliant Thing

A young person must suddenly cope with a situation where their mother can no longer see a way to go on with her life. Our protagonist starts writing down things that are worth living for, hoping it might help their mother feel better:

1.        Ice cream.
2.        Water fights.
3.        Being allowed to stay up past bedtime and watch TV.
4.        The colour yellow.
5.        Things with stripes.
6.        Merry-go-rounds.
7.        When people fall.

This begins a list of every brilliant thing, which keeps getting longer and more detailed throughout the protagonist’s life, until it gradually turns into something they can themself hold on to in difficult times. It is a story of growing up and accepting life’s twists and turns. And how even in the deepest of darkness there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Director Tanel Jonas:

Duncan Macmillan’s plays have always captivated me. With this text as well, I felt drawn to it from early on. It might even be the play that characterises his work the best: talking about life, this great and complex sequence of systems, this indescribable magnificent mess, through small and simple things. But without being simplistic or shallow. To find joy in the little things – this is a message we hear all around these days, from gurus to self-help books. But how easy is it? Or is it at all possible?

Cast

Getter Meresmaa, Doris Tislar or Risto Vaidla