(TW: depression, self-harm and suicide.)
The fourth wall was never there.
As audience members settled into their seats at Blackfriars Theatre on Friday evening, a man with a fistful of brightly colored post-it notes moved quickly among them, handing out the papers one-by-one. On them, different numbers and phrases.
The man was Daniel Mejak, the local solo performer in “Every Brilliant Thing,” which runs at BT through March 30.
“Oh, this one is my favorite,” he said, handing me a robin’s egg blue note.
#521: The word “plinth.”
Written in 2014 by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe (who originated the one-man role) for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, “Every Brilliant Thing” opens with the first-person narrative of a six-year-old boy who’s just found out his mom attempted suicide. His goal for the remainder of the play — and, his life — is to create a list of “brilliant things,” or everything worth living for.
“In order to live in the present, you have to be able to imagine a future that’s better than the past — because that’s what hope is,” says Mejak as the little boy.
#1: Ice cream. #2: Water fights. #3: Things with stripes.
He makes a few rules. First, no repetition; second, things have to be genuinely wonderful and life-affirming; and third, there can’t be too many material items. The result, of course, is that his self-appointed mission impacts the little boy far more than anyone else.
Audience members may recognize Mejak from his decades running operations at the Park Avenue mainstay boutique Parkleigh. On stage at Blackfriars in a bright yellow sweater and tennis shoes, Mejak is thoughtfully directed by Patricia Lewis Browne, a frequent director and performer on the BFT boards.
#999: Sunlight.
The nearly bare stage design by BT executive director Mary Tiballi Hoffman resembles a black box, with no set other than a handful of layered Persian rugs, a few stools and a sideboard stacked with books, records and Mejak’s Yeti (props by BT artistic director Brynn Tyszka). Lighting design by Jena Overbeck consists mostly of colored gels and simple string lights that twinkle over Mejak.
As he weaves in and out of grown-up narrator to little boy to his dad, Mejak’s energy fills the stage, enveloping the audience members he occasionally calls on to briefly fill supporting roles (there was one on Friday, in particular, who had Mejak barely in tears laughing with her rendition of the school psychologist).
#10,000: Waking up late with someone you love.
At 75 minutes with no intermission, “Every Brilliant Thing” requires an actor who can command a stage, and Mejak is perfect in the role (high-fives is the only semi-spoiler here). His nuance and emotion as he portrays the older version of the narrator is especially moving. The list grows, and his character grows with it.
“I’m sad, I’m really sad — and I want to know, was I always like this?” he says. “Do you remember how I was? When I was younger I was much better at being happy, feeling joy.”
Due to the heavy content of the show, Blackfriars has partnered with the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) of Rochester to provide support, education and resources, including during the rehearsal process.
At its heart, “Every Brilliant Thing” is a play about life. What we can and can’t control, how we respond and how we hold onto hope when it feels impossible. More info and tickets here.
Leah Stacy is the editor of CITY. She can be reached at leah@rochester-citynews.com.
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2024.
