Even in the darkest times, moments of kindness, beauty and plain goodness are all around us. Encouraging us to slow down and enjoy the small yet amazing things is Every Brilliant Thing on stage at ACT Hub on 20-25 August.

When their mother is in hospital, a young child sets out on a mission to document all the good things in the world, believing this would convince her there are many things worth living for. As they grow, the list does too.

“It is a matter of exploring what is amazing about the world, what is life-affirming and all these generally wonderfully little things you might not notice unless you focus on them and have that gratitude,” says Jarrad West, actor.

An uplifting and joyous exercise in theatre, the one-person play explores tough topics like mental health, survival and how to heal, concepts almost anyone could relate to. While the thought of going to a play about mental health can be daunting for some, Every Brilliant Thing does it all without torture or agony, says Jarrad. 

“It doesn’t bash you over the head with trauma before going everything is okay. It is all about how good life can be.”

The original goal of our narrator is to reach 1,000 brilliant things. Throughout their life, they uncover one million brilliant things that make life worth living. While there isn’t enough time in the play to list all one million things, we do get to learn a number of them.

“We jump from 654, which is Marlon Brando, to 836, which is skinny dipping. You don’t get the full list of a million. In fact, as part of the interactive nature of the show, if there are any numbers that the audience hasn’t heard, we encourage them to fill them in,” says Jarrad.

Taking inspiration from the heartwarming play, Jarrad has started to consider what would be on his own list of brilliant things, aiming for one small thing each day.

“Baristas who know your name and order and you don’t appreciate it until you go to another coffee shop. Just the fact that we all have dogs in the world, they are wonderful. Pop tarts, they’re another brilliant thing,” smiles Jarrad.

Known around Canberra for his work behind the stage as a director, ACT Hub’s recent season of Mary Stuart (24 July – 3 August) was the first time Jarrad stepped onto the stage as an actor in four years. Friend and often collaborator Joel Horwood introduced Jarrad to the play years ago. He says it was the first time in a long time he saw a role he wanted to play rather than direct.

When the opportunity came up for Jarrad to stage two plays at ACT Hub this year, he thought with one actor and minimal production requirements, this would be the second one. Joel is onboard as director and Jarrad, who is working on multiple other shows, is almost ready to step into the spotlight.

“Half of me is thrilled about being the centre of everyone’s attention for 75 minutes, half of me is absolutely terrified because it’s a lot to learn,” he says.

Simple staging accompanied by tricks of lights and music, Every Brilliant Thing is fun and a joy to be part of, says Jarrad. He hopes the audience will feel that too, and hopefully take with them their belongings and a newfound appreciation of the little things.

“Little amazing things happen to us every day that we sometimes gloss over…These things that happen in life that are good, we just need to stop and notice them.”

Stop and enjoy the small moments in Every Brilliant Thing at ACT Hub on 20-25 August; acthub.com.au