What Makes Life Worth Living?

Contemplate Life and Death

What makes life worth living? Is it just the big “wow” things that come along rarely? Or is it also the everyday things, like ice skating on the creek when you are a kid, or having a drink with a friend talking about the play you just saw, or soft-serve ice cream on a summer night, or chocolate truffles? There are thousands upon thousands of small things that people experience over a lifetime that bring joy to the heart. In the short, one-character play, Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan MacMillan and Jonny Donahoe, it is the everyday things that can save a life.

When he was a young child, The Narrator’s mother suffered from suicidal depression. Her suicide attempts and ultimate death, and his father’s silences left him isolated and terrified. Left on his own and to keep fear at bay, he began a numbered list of the brilliant things that make life worth living, like ice cream and staying up late to watch TV. As he grew up, his list became longer and more complex, acting as a support to the lonely boy and then young man. 

Laugh Out Loud Funny

In the wittiest, at times laugh out loud funny, most heartwarming play about suicide you may ever see, Kevin Craig gives an outstanding performance as The Narrator. On a bare platform stage in the black box theater, with only a few metal boxes scattered around and with house lights up, he takes full charge, talking directly to the audience about his life, from the death of his beloved dog when he was seven, through college and later.

Throughout the play, he asks a few of the audience members to play significant people in his life in a short scene, for example a veterinarian, a teacher, his father, his first love. Audience participation can be a tricky device, but it works beautifully here. Because Mr. Craig is having such a good time with it, as if to say that we are all in this together so let’s just have some fun, his kind of cuddly bear enthusiasm is infectious and spills over onto everyone in the room. Then, when everyone is smiling and laughing, the scene unfolds and the sadness and fear experienced by this lonely boy tugs at our hearts. This all happens in a matter of a few minutes. Mr. Craig is able to turn our feelings and his on a dime. His improvisational skills are put to good use, too. At one point, he instructed an audience member to vacate his seat so he could sit next to an attractive young woman. Moment to moment, we experienced surprise after surprise. Kudos to Kevin Craig for taking us on this journey with him…

And kudos to Charmagne Chi in her directorial debut. She has shown her talents are not confined to the front of the stage. She allows her actor full expression, while never losing sight of the seriousness or message of the piece. May this be the first of many plays with her seated in the Director’s chair.

A Range of Emotions

In a serio-comic manner, Every Brilliant Thing speaks to the pain of those with suicidal ideation and the consequences of suicide on those left behind. It is educational, explaining the concept of social contagion and how the media and well-meaning people can affect sufferers. It is also wonderfully entertaining.