September 2025
It’s a thing. An interactive one. And it’s coming to Bridport.
Currently showing in London’s West End, the play Every Brilliant Thing, written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, stars a rotating cast of actors including Lenny Henry and Sue Perkins. As part of the Allington Arts Weekend, the Bridport production is directed by local resident Margie Barbour and features actor Romla Walker.
This is a one-person show about a child who starts making a list of brilliant things to help their mother cope with depression. As in life, emotions in the play are wide-ranging, from humour to healing, and it explores themes of depression, suicide and resilience. The show has also become known for including audience participation.
We met Margie to hear about her life, her previous work in the theatre and television, and her personal interest in mental health.
The Bridge: How would you define your life’s work?
Margie Barbour: I’ve been lucky to follow my dream, working with actors, helping to turn scripts into meaningful performances.
TB: What seeded a lifetime’s passion?
MB: My father was a lecturer in geography at the University of Khartoum. I remember sleeping under the African sky and being in awe at the brilliance of the stars. At age 14, attending an international school, I played Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which ended with the cast surrounding the audience with candles. And that’s where my love of the magic of theatre started, along with the realisation that the job and career as a director existed! Studies in drama and French followed along with acceptance on Bristol Old Vic Theatre School’s postgraduate directors’ course.
TB: Your career path has been extraordinary! Please tell us more.
MB: It’s certainly been varied. I’ve worked in many locations and genres and did 22 years with the BBC. At first it was calling performers to the studio and over time progressed to stage-managing dramas, such as the first series of Angels.
In 1984 I directed A Common Woman, written by novelist and playwright Mary Rensten. Based on the true story about the peace camp established in Greenham, Berkshire, where the women protested about the deployment of cruise missiles. In 2024 a reimagined version was performed and I’m immensely proud of that.
TB: And BAFTA nominations?
MB: When I worked at the BBC on children’s television, I gained nominations for Jackanory and Thinking About Science. In terms of my most cherished achievement, that would be for Burglar Bill by Allan and Janet Ahlberg, and a poetry-based story, A Bear Behind. I must also say that when my three-year-old granddaughter watches reruns of Playschool and gets immersed in songs and rhythms, my heart melts!
TB: How do you feel about children’s TV in 2025 and how it could shape the cultural future?
MB: There is huge pressure on programme makers to sell internationally. We’re in a new era of financial interest linked to global and merchandise markets.
TB: Turning to Every Brilliant Thing, the play deals with some of life’s most emotionally charged and distressing mental health problems, specifically depression. Is this something you have experienced?
MB: Yes. In 1970, I was 21, my brother, David, was taking A-levels at Charterhouse School in Surrey when his best friend died by suicide. Our parents were away, my brother and I at home when yet another shattering and tragic event happened: David took his own life. The impact has undoubtedly stayed with me.
Here in Dorset, my husband lives with depression and I’m deeply aware of the complexities of the condition. If there’s ever a chance to educate, inform and reach out, I do it. To anyone in such crisis, I’d say emphatically: stay alive, tell someone.
TB: How do you as a director seek to convey the message in this play?
MB: By focusing on hope. We’re fortunate to have Romla taking the lead role, and we use her acting skills to highlight moments of humour and poignant words that could be lifelines.
TB: Each actor brings a personal memory or moment into the dialogue. Sir Lenny Henry was interviewed by Nick Robinson on Radio 4 in early August and he chose his late mum’s special Jamaican soup. Many of us have a ‘thing’ that reaches deep into long-held memories. Can you share yours?
MB: My mum’s cakes! She used to make a vanilla sponge with chocolate buttercream filling – just for me. The aroma of home baking…
The ‘thing’ comes in many guises and always endures.
Quick-fire questions
TB: Your happy place in Dorset?
MB: My garden, because of the view, seclusion and the joy it brings. Holidays in the county, over some 30 years, gave me a huge affection for the area and living here had always been a long-held dream.
TB: Favourite book?
MB: Howards End. E M Forster was famous for his great quote “Only connect”, and I believe we should always strive to connect our inner ‘truth’ with our actions.
TB: And play?
MB: I’m going for a musical, A Chorus Line. A song-and-dance extravaganza, it’s a snapshot of individual lives as each cast member is followed through the audition process. Bring on teamwork, finding your tribe and the knowledge that with the right support, people can fulfil their potential. For one sensational spirit-booster, this is where to look.
TB: And finally, if you could add one incredible element to a mythical, magical pill for depression, what would it be?
MB: Oh, that’s a tough one. To be able to travel back in time, to know someone needed to feel safe and cared for. To reach out to a stranger, a neighbour, a family member. The message is: Help. Hope. A Future.
Or maybe it’s love. For everyone and everything.
Interview by Annette Shaw
Photo of Margie by Robin Mills
An acknowledgement is due to Casarotto Ramsay & Associates for granting amateur rights for the Bridport production of Every Brilliant Thing.
Allington Arts Weekend (25–28 September 2025) included the Bridport production of Every Brilliant Thing.