My Brother's A Genius

The sound of fidget toys and gentle shuffling ran through the air in the Crucible’s Playhouse Theatre as the sound-system proclaimed that “This is an immersive production, feel free to fidget and shuffle as much as you need.” Every production of ‘My Brother’s A Genius’ is a relaxed environment performance. However, if you think that might mean that the audience was constantly restless and dipping in and out then you would be mistaken. All eyes in the crowd were fixed to the two performers, Jess Senanayake as Daisy and Tyrese Walters as her brother Luke as they navigated through the world as two neurodivergent young siblings.

The pace of this show is fast. It moves along at lightening speed, mirroring the experience of how life must feel with ADHD. There is no time to process and ease into things as it blazes through it’s one hour and ten minutes run time. This is a good thing though as it keeps the audience on their toes and ensures that everybody is gripped and hooked on the lives of these two neurodivergent young people. ‘My Brother’s A Genius’ is an incredible innovative and creative show that is as ambitious as it is enjoyable.

In fact, just seeing a production that is based on the lives of our neurodivergent young people is a pleasure in itself. It is something that a lot of the general public do not entirely understand and, yet, something that affects a great many of us, young and old. This show does a wonderful job of showing compassion to those people and helping others to understand what it feels like when the world doesn’t always feel as it does for other people. Senanayake and Walters are endlessly captivating and it’s hard not to feel their struggles as they traverse through life on their different path whilst often facing similar struggles. There is a fantastic chemistry between them and they display an incredible range of skills as they dance, rap and run around the stage like they are performing the worlds fastest variety show.

After the show, I saw a man approach the theatre staff thanking them profusely for putting on a show like this and informing them of how moved he was and how understood he felt. If that isn’t a glowing reference for a piece of theatre then I don’t know what is. My Brother’s A Genius is playing at Sheffield Crucible’s Playhouse Theatre from 28th January until the 14th February.