Every Brilliant Thing to run in the West End with star cast

Every Brilliant Thing will run in the West End for a limited spell at @sohoplace this summer.

Written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, Every Brilliant Thing originally premiered at Paines Plough’s Roundabout at Summerhall in Edinburgh in 2014.

It has since toured internationally, been adapted into an acclaimed HBO special, and was most recently revived in a sold-out 2024 anniversary run at Roundabout, celebrating both the play’s tenth anniversary and Paines Plough’s 50th.

Told from the perspective of a child who begins making a list of life’s joys for their mother amid her struggles with depression, the play spans decades, showing how the list shapes their own life. It explores themes of mental health, resilience, and love with humour and emotional depth.

The production will be co-directed by Jeremy Herrin and Macmillan and is presented by Second Half Productions in association with Nica Burns and Paines Plough.

A rotating cast of guest performers will lead the show across the run, including Lenny Henry (dates from 1 to 30 August), Donahoe  (dates from 13 August to 1 September), Ambika Mod (dates from 2 to 26 September), and Sue Perkins (dates from 4 to 27 September).

Donahoe said today: “It’s actually, properly BRILLIANT to be finally bringing Every Brilliant Thing to the West End @sohoplace with Duncan, Jeremy and everyone at Second Half Productions. It’s been 12 years since Duncan and I did two little scratch shows at a Shropshire poetry festival and a rural community centre; a decade since we ran off-Broadway for four and a half months; and a year since we started putting it back together at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe.

“I am over the moon to be back performing this show that Duncan and I are so proud of, and to be joined by such an array of talent in Lenny, Sue and Ambika: it’s a dream come true.”

Performances are scheduled @sohoplace from 1 August to 27 September. The production is designed by Vicki Mortimer with lighting design by Jack Knowles, sound design by Tom Gibbons and casting by Jessica Ronane.