★★★ Although depression and suicide attempts are the central themes of this interactive monologue, the pen of the English playwright Duncan Macmillan (1980) reveals the other side of the coin by showing us how the protagonist’s optimism attacks the windmills and manages to discover all the little things that are worth being alive for.
“Every brilliant thing”, as its original name, was written in collaboration with the British comedian Jonny Donahoe, and initially premiered at the Edinburgh festival in 2013. Since then, it has not stopped being performed, with singular repercussion, on the scene. off of different theatrical capitals of the world. So much so that a live performance was recorded at the Barrow Street Theater in New York, which can be seen on HBO Max.
In the one-person show, a young man goes back in time, at the age of 7, to tell us about his initial approach to death, when his dog must be “put to sleep” by a veterinarian and he discovers, for the first time, how a being beloved is gone forever.
That incident, and the subsequent attempted immolation of his mother, will mark his destiny and will transform him into a shy child who will dedicate his existence to the making of an endless list of reasons that give joy to exist; “wonderful things”, from the title. From ice cream to noodles with tuco, to the sound of rain or his father’s vinyl record collection. Countless experiences that will extend into his adulthood as if it were a diary documenting his life.
The proposal requires a participatory public, since it begins when the actor Peter Lanzani goes out to look for the spectators, in the hall of the room. Once located on stage, some will read and others will take part with brief interventions: a teacher, a university professor, the idyllic bride, etc.
The interpreter, blessed with a charisma that dazzles, emerges successful from the challenge despite an obvious lack of protection in the marking. Because, although minimalism is the chosen path, he should have more physical actions and elements to help him build his role. For example, to begin with, he could really use a glass of water, close at hand, to lubricate his throat.
