For one week only, experience a new way of understanding depression through comedy.

All across North America for the last 34 years, the first week of October has been observed as Mental Illness Awareness Week. From the first t to the seventh of October, institutions and people across the continent make great efforts to raise awareness about the realities experienced by people suffering from mental illnesses and provide resources to those in need. On the 10th of October, World Mental Health Day, millions around the globe promote the importance of taking care of your mental health and reducing the stigma around mental illness.

Dealing with mental illness is not as uncommon as some of us may think. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health states that during any given year, 20% of Canadians will experience mental illness. 

Thousands of people across the country struggle with their mental health and well-being every single day. The importance of awareness when it comes to mental illness and suicide cannot be understated, especially when nearly everyone in Canada has been affected by them in one way or another. 

No matter how dark life may seem, there will always be light on the horizon. It’s our job to be that light for those who need it when we can, so all they have to do is move towards it. 

This month, the Refinery and the Burnt Thicket Theatre will bring to life Every Brilliant Thing, a powerful and witty stage play about suicide prevention and the struggles of mental illness, through the eyes of a child. 

Written by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe, this award-winning comedy reframes the way we look at mental illness and the effects it has on day-to-day life. It manages to deal with sensitive subject matters in a light-hearted way that brings hope to anyone who has dealt with or is dealing with similar situations, through witty writing and audience interaction. 

Directed by Stephen Waldschmidt and starring Sarah Robertson, the play follows a child whose mother suffers from chronic depression and attempts to take her own life. The audience watches through the narrator’s naive lens as she copes with the trauma that the event left her with.

In an effort to help, Robertson’s character writes a list of every brilliant thing, everything in the world she can think of worth living for, and shares it with her mom. She extends her hand in the only way she can come up with as a seven-year-old girl —  by looking on the bright side.

As the narrator grows, the list grows with her, and her relationship with it and the rest of the world evolves into something complex and recondite. She reflects on her experiences with death, and how her mother’s mental illness affected her. We see how her conceptions of life, happiness, and mental illness change as she goes through the highs and lows of adulthood. 

While the narrator’s blunt nature and whimsical way of speaking might make some a little wary of accepting the play‘s message, it opens the doors for audience members to approach subjects they may have once deemed taboo. Describing the effects of parental mental illness on children using comedy might thaw the ice around people’s unease, allowing for more productive discussions on the topics and hopefully contributing to ending the stigmas around them.

Even if the method seems absurd, by talking about these difficult subjects using humor, Every Brilliant Thing works to provide relief to people that are struggling with their mental health, either by making them laugh or by making those around them understand the realities of mental illness. It’s silly and gut-wrenching at the same time, much like life can be at times.

The narrative follows a story of hope and realism through a solo performance that has captivated audiences across Canada for years. It brings people to tears of laughter and grief, showcasing an incredible moral to any that may need it: Don’t give up hope, even in the face of challenges that seem insurmountable.

The tone of the production is colourful and bright despite the weight of its subject matter and it’s in that juxtaposition that audience members are given the opportunity to reflect on their own experiences with mental illness and reframe how they look at life. 

It tackles hard-to-discuss, gritty issues like depression and suicide in a unique way while driving home the message of suicide prevention and hope. Audience members will be sure to walk away with a better understanding of what thousands across the country and millions across the world have dealt with and are still dealing with. 

Every Brilliant Thing is an incredibly eye-opening and hysterical play that puts its message in the audience’s hands and lets them decide what to do with it. It shows them that no matter how small an act of help may seem, it can move mountains off of someone’s shoulders, even if you don’t see it. No matter how small a joyous thing might seem, it can still serve as a guiding light for those feeling lost.

We have the power to make life easier, for ourselves and everyone around us. All we need to do is reach out and make the connection, especially when it could mean the difference between life and death.

And to those who find themselves seeking light in dark times: Even when the world seems hopeless, there is joy all around you. Just like the narrator’s list says, you might find it in the form of “ice cream, roller coasters, or peeing in the pool when nobody knows.” You just need to look for it. 

Every Brilliant Thing featuring the talented Sarah Robertson comes to the Refinery for one week only, thanks to the Burnt Thicket Theatre. Be sure to check it out before it’s gone, from October 17th to 20th.