My brother’s a genius
Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
⭑⭑⭑⭑☆

THOSE of us who have experienced neurodiversity on a personal level will find much in Debris Stevenson’s latest play My Brother’s A Genius to which they can relate, as she delves into its complexities and intricacies, and confronts the stigmas and stereotypes that too often define people’s limited and socially conditioned understanding.

Paradoxically, in a world that is increasingly recognising the importance of diversity in all its forms, there remains a need for such a timely and necessary work, and Stevenson has crafted a narrative that is as entertaining as it is enlightening. Drawing on her own experience of dyslexia with a brother branded a “genius,” the play explores neurodivergence, sibling rivalry, and the burden of expectations.

My Brother’s A Genius delves into the multifaceted nature of neurodiversity and focuses on the lives of twins who are both neurodiverse but experience it in entirely different ways. One of the twins is seen as a genius, the other as an idiot, and in wrestling with how these perceptions become internalised, the play challenges the negative and discriminatory stereotyping of neurodivergent individuals, portraying the twins as fully self-aware people with their own strengths, weaknesses, desires, and fears.

A powerful two-hander lasting just under an hour, the story centres on twins Daisy and Luke, who are navigating life in a high-rise estate, where their ambitions and self-doubt start to collide, leaving us with the question of whether the bond between them and their shared dream of flying will “launch them up together or crash them apart,” to quote the show’s tag line.

Award-winnng theatre-maker and poet Jess Senanayake as Daisy, and London-based stage and screen actor Tyrese Walters as Luke, bring a warmth and empathy to their roles while authentically unpacking the complexity of feelings that such a dialectical relationship brings with all its shared hopes and dreams, tensions and contradictions.

The play was developed in collaboration with neurodivergent members of the National Youth Theatre (NYT), and has now been commissioned for full production by Theatre Centre and co-produced with Sheffield Theatres and the National Youth Theatre.

Stevenson understands that to tell a story that involves identities and experiences different from the norm, the voices of those who live those experiences must be at the centre of the narrative. This necessarily involves the participation of neurodiverse talent to ensure that the characters’ experiences are grounded in the complex reality of neurodivergence.

Despite being a comedy, My Brother’s a Genius offers a multilayered and realistic portrayal of the lived reality of many in society, balancing the seriousness of the stigmatisation of neurodiversity with moments of light, fun, and emotional depth.

Through her intoxicating and explosive cocktail of poetry and grime, courtesy of an original soundtrack by MC and record producer Jammz, Stevenson offers a lens through which to view the complexities of the human mind, and captures the intensity and emotion of young people’s experiences, ensuring that they feel seen, heard and inspired.

Brilliant!

Runs at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield until February 14, then on tour. Box Office: 0114 249 6000, sheffieldtheatres.co.uk