FILE PHOTO - This summer's offering from the North Okanagan's Caravan Farm Theatre is about finding joy in the little things. Now in its 45th year, Armstrong's Caravan Farm Theatre is presenting Duncan Macmillan’s "Every Brilliant Thing".

(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

This summer's offering from the North Okanagan's Caravan Farm Theatre is about finding joy in the little things.

Now in its 45th year, Armstrong's Caravan Farm Theatre is presenting Duncan Macmillan’s Every Brilliant Thing.

It's a play about depression, but it's not depressing being described as "heart-wrenching, hilarious" by one critic.

The one-actor play runs from July 18 to Aug. 20 and is about a child who creates a list of what makes life worth living for their mother who battles chronic depression.

"Over the course of their lifetime, they discover the transformative nature of positive thinking, about personal responsibility and what you can and can’t control," the theatre's artistic director Estelle Shook said in a media release. "It inspires us all to find joy in the simple pleasures in life."

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Through humour, playful interaction and masterful storytelling, the one cast member — played by Sheldon Elter and Dawn Petten on alternating nights — hosts the audience through an invigorating social experience, the release says.

Shook describes the show as a social experiment that "feels like going to a well-hosted dinner."

The show also involves what the majority of people dread, audience participation.

However, Shook says even the shyest audience member is handled with a lot of grace.

Before the show, the audience is given a numbered slip of paper with a word or phrase. As the character calls out the numbers, the audience member reads out the word or phrase on their card.

The actor then "welcomes" the other character.

"It’s beautiful how the actor incorporates the audience. It’s like a dinner party where the host asks one guest to cut peppers and another to move the chairs. You feel involved and responsible for the evening," Shook said.

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The performance is accompanied by a jazz score and the audience is encouraged to arrive early and enjoy a walk in the theatre's beautiful fields and the forest.

"We wanted to create an engaging atmosphere before and after the show to enhance the social atmosphere. If it feels like we are all re-learning how to be social, this play offers an opportunity to exercise that muscle," she said. "It’s the perfect start to a season all about bringing the community together again."

Tickets for Every Brilliant Thing are on sale now and range from pay-what-you-can pricing to $35. They also sell out quickly.

For more information and to buy tickets go here.

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