A Big List of Brilliant Things Doc duo Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey turn a one-man play into a big screen experience
Written by Eric Shea
Every Brilliant Thing captured the deeply emotional, yet at times comical, one-man play of the same name. The film focused on British actor Jonny Donahoe as he delivered a powerful performance of the play he co-wrote with Duncan Macmillan. The play’s central character, played by Donahoe, attempts to cope with his mother’s multiple suicide attempts by creating a list of the most brilliant things in the world, no matter how mundane or inconsequential they may seem.
The film was expertly captured by directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato who seamlessly combined footage from three of Donahoe’s performances into one sequence. Barbato said of the film’s shooting that “A big part of the challenge is disappearing. We really tried to not be present at all.”
As the story twists and turns through issues like depression, self-worth, and coping with loss, Donahoe engages audience members to take on the roles of various characters throughout the journey. When it came to the pivotal role that audience members took on in the play, and consequently in the film, Bailey remarked that, “Somehow the audience rises to the occasion and that’s why it made it so unique and important to document this.” He continued by saying that Donohoe possessed “Some intuitive understanding of who would play well with him,” when selecting which audience members to participate in the play. As Donohoe’s list of brilliant things grows throughout the film so does the audience’s participation and their ability to engage with each and every item or idea that Donohoe mentions.
When asked by an audience member what would be at the top of their lists of brilliant things, directors Bailey and Barbato replied with “Saturday afternoons” and “drag queens” respectively, with the latter drawing a well-warranted laugh from the rest of the crowd.
Eric Shea is a freelance writer and manages the music blog Maimed and Tamed.
