Theater Review | ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ Thrives on Human Connection

Ensemble Theatre Company’s (ETC) production of Every Brilliant Thing transforms the New Vic into a gathering place where strangers become participants in a communal act of storytelling. Directed by Jenny Sullivan and energetically performed by Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper, this Santa Barbara staging captures much of what has made Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe’s play a worldwide phenomenon while feeling deeply specific to the community in the room.

The play follows an unnamed narrator who begins compiling a list of “every brilliant thing” in the world after learning of his mother’s struggle with depression. What starts with simple joys — ice cream, laughter, and favorite songs — expands into a lifelong catalog of reasons to keep living. Mongiardo-Cooper carries the evening with effortless charisma. Part storyteller, part improviser, and part ringmaster, he guides audience members through the play’s interactive structure with a deft touch that makes everyone feel safe, included,and essential to the experience. 

Audience participation can often feel gimmicky, but here it becomes the heart of the piece. A young woman gamely stepped into the role of a veterinarian to euthanize the narrator’s beloved childhood pet while an elderly gentleman improvised an impressively coherent wedding speech on the fly. Watching audience members embrace their assigned roles with such enthusiasm and commitment proved one of the production’s greatest pleasures.

With additional seating placed onstage to create an arena configuration, Every Brilliant Thing is performed in-the-round. This staging approach presents unique challenges, requiring the creative team to ensure that audience members on all sides remain connected to the action throughout the performance. Sullivan and Mongiardo-Cooper largely succeed in maintaining clear sightlines, skillfully navigating the space without leaving any section of the audience behind. However, the near-constant movement occasionally felt frenetic, lending the performance an energy that was at times slightly outsized for the intimacy of the New Vic.

Sullivan’s direction understands that Every Brilliant Thing succeeds not because of theatrical spectacle but because of human connection. The show embraces simplicity, allowing the story and its audience to do the heavy lifting. The result is a production shaped by the personalities and responses of those in attendance, giving each performance a sense of spontaneity that can’t be replicated. 

While Mongiardo-Cooper’s easy charm and quick improvisational instincts kept the audience thoroughly engaged, the performance occasionally felt so focused on maintaining the script’s quippy momentum that it missed opportunities for deeper emotional stillness. Every Brilliant Thing derives much of its power from the tension between humor and vulnerability, and there were moments when the production seemed reluctant to linger in the latter. 

Every Brilliant Thing is ultimately a celebration of life’s small wonders and the people who help us recognize them. Ensemble Theatre Company has delivered a production that is entertaining and compassionate, along with a reminder that there are indeed countless brilliant things worth noticing. 

See the show at the New Vic through June 21. See etcsb.org for tickets and showtimes.