Second Best
Review by Sam
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Making his stage debut, Asa Butterfield stars in this poignant and playful one man show based on the fictionalised French novel by David Foenkinos and adapted by Barney Norris.
As he attempts to navigate the emotional rollercoaster of fatherhood, Martin Hill looks back to a pivotal moment of his childhood. He struggles to move beyond imagining what direction his life could have gone had he not narrowly missed out on the role of a lifetime, Harry Potter. Norris' play is deeply moving and piercingly funny, cleverly exploring the idea of feeling like a runner-up in life and the terrible impact it can have. It tackles these issues in a moving and poignant way, carefully ensuring to walk the line of humour, injecting hysterically witty puns and asides consistantly from a phenomenal performance by Butterfield.
Making his long awaited stage debut, Butterfield is perfectly cast and nothing short of a magical delight in this tightly woven one-man-play. He seemlesly showcases his incredible charisma and charm from the opening moments, switching between humour and trauma to give a deeply layered performance.
Director Michael Longhurst and set designer Fly Davis, have transformed a seemingly bare and minimalistic stage into a treasure trove of hidden wonders, as props are revealed and utilised with maximum effect to highlight key moments in Martin’s life. Much like Hogwarts itself, the set holds countless magical secrets which are cleverly revealed and used throughout as the character spirals and explores more of their past trauma. Lighting design by Paule Constable paired with Richard Hammarton's hauntigly perfect (H.P.) sound design only elevate the pure brilliance of this remarkable production, as moments are viscerally imagined with fantastic creative flair.
Second Best is already a strong contender for play of the year for me. It may at times be generationally specific with its framing, but the material took me on a rollercoaster of emotions, which was both moving and playful, with a deeply personable debut performance at its core.