Every Brilliant Thing at @sohoplace is doing something quietly extraordinary — and Minnie Driver is at the heart of it.
Known to many for her film roles — from Good Will Hunting to her gloriously scene-stealing turn as the diva Carlotta in The Phantom of the Opera — Driver brings that same charisma and emotional intelligence to this one-woman show. Yet here, stripped of costume and spectacle, she's at her most human.
Duncan Macmillan's Every Brilliant Thing is the story of a child who begins compiling a list of everything worth living for, in an attempt to help a parent struggling with depression. It's a piece that lives and breathes through connection — and under Driver's touch, that connection becomes electric.
Though she stands alone on stage, the audience is woven into the performance from the start. We read aloud numbers from her list, play small but tender roles, and in doing so, become part of the storytelling itself. It's a rare kind of theatre — immersive yet effortless, intimate yet universal.
Driver navigates the emotional shifts with remarkable grace. One moment she has the audience roaring with laughter; the next, she brings a hush so complete you can hear the weight of feeling in the room. There's both sadness and joy here — grief and gratitude, interlaced.
What makes Every Brilliant Thing so special is that it reminds us how connection, humour, and kindness can exist even in the darkest places. It's theatre that heals a little.
It runs until 8 November. Tickets: here.
Review: Oliver Popa Photo: Danny Kaan