Learn the origin story of Brooke in her one-woman show The Brilliance of Broken Glass at Underbelly’s The Wee Coo, traversing the rocky road she walked through her 20s to get to now. Starting from a pressure-filled childhood into a young adulthood of medical misdiagnosis and trauma, there’s still plenty to identify with in Brooke’s retelling of her life.
The performance itself is a blend of spoken word memoir and poetry performance, with the lyrical rhythm of Brooke’s voice lulling you into feeling as though truly unique experiences are actually a story you’ve heard since childhood. Immediately putting the audience at ease, the endearing wit and frank honesty from Brooke is what will keep you focused on what would otherwise be a confusing journey, jumping across her personal timeline.
Although a fairly simple set leaves plenty of space for Brooke’s powerful performance, she does have one backup performer: a toy dog who stays on the stage for emotional support throughout The Brilliance of Broken Glass. Whether that’s for Brooke or for us is up for you to decide, as there are certainly a few emotional tales to soak up along the way.
The Brilliance of Broken Glass is funny when it wants to be, but is happy to sit in the darker, more difficult moments – and encourages you to sit with them too. The lyrical nature of Brooke’s performance does mean that some moments feel a little too polished, with nudges to the audience that don’t quite feel genuine. Nonetheless, despite being far from a happy tale, it will take you to a place of hope that everyone who’s ever had a crisis of identity (and who hasn’t?) could learn something from.
The blend of frank observational humour married to beautifully worded metaphors makes for a performance that will whisk you along for a ride through an albeit sometimes confusing journey, but one that’s thoroughly worth seeing through to its conclusion.
