SECOND BEST

Riverside Studios

★★★★

“Butterfield navigates the journey with a fearless and faultless performance”

Much has been made in the media recently of Asa Butterfield’s stage debut. In interviews he has said that theatre “has always terrified” him. We get the impression that this is genuine, rather than a false modesty. Having made his name in “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” at the age of ten, he went on to play the lead in Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo”, before his major break in the Netflix series, “Sex Education”. Yet he is sufficiently aware that standing in front of a live audience is a completely different ballgame. Especially when you are the only one on stage for the whole hour and a half. Any fears we (or Butterfield for that matter) may have had about this inaugural performance are instantly driven away. “Second Best” is a wonderfully stylised, one-man, one-act play by Barney Norris in which Butterfield commands the stage with a natural comfort and ease, and a sparkling charisma that keeps us hanging on his every word.

Adapted from David Foenkinos’ French novel (translated by Megan Jones), it tells the story of Martin – the (fictionalised) boy who lost out to Daniel Radcliffe on being cast as Harry Potter in the film franchise. Although a specific narrative, it is immediately relatable. Who hasn’t wondered what might have happened if things had turned out differently? That ‘different life I once almost had’ as Butterfield’s character states. That is the crux of the piece. Quite a simple premise, but it is wrapped in layers that are peeled away by Butterfield as he paces the stage, making sharp turns through Martin’s backstory in a seemingly haphazard fashion.

As we enter the auditorium, Butterfield is already there. A lone figure in black, strikingly prominent against the stark white backdrop. Fly Davis’ set is initially a puzzle. A damaged corner-shop rack of crisps, a camera tripod, television set, large packing crate, empty picture frames and a hospital bed high up on the wall. Martin sets the scene. We begin in the present, in a hospital waiting for the results of his and his partner’s three-month scan. But Martin’s mind cannot focus on the image of his child-to-be. Instead, it is being dragged back to into his past – a life of things he didn’t do. A sometimes-traumatic journey. Honest and brutal yet funny and sympathetic as Martin pieces himself back together again. Non sequiturs are strategically placed throughout the script, teasing us until their meaning smacks with a startling clarity. Michael Longhurst’s skilful direction makes inspired use of the props and set pieces, and all the while Butterfield navigates the journey with a fearless and faultless performance.

The narrative is, in fact, more about Martin’s relationship with his mother and, particularly, his father. A stepfather casts a dark shadow too. We follow Martin from school, through to his early film auditions. We commute with him from England to France and back after his parents’ divorce. A vertigo inducing scene takes us into hospital where he was briefly sectioned. And eventually to the party where he met the love of his life – and his saviour. All with stroboscopic shifts from the dark to the light. And never before have tuna sandwiches carried such tear-jerking poignancy. As the conclusion approaches, we do get a whiff of self-help therapy. In Martin’s words, it is ‘not the story of how I came second, but the story of how someone put me first’. But in Butterfield’s hands we are spared any trace of sentimentality. What he replaces it with is tenderness.

In real life, Butterfield narrowly missed out on being cast as the new Spiderman in 2015. The part went to Tom Holland. But he is philosophical about it and has no regrets. Had his story played out differently, though, he might not be here on the stage as his fictional counterpart, Martin – which, for us, would be a big regret. “Second Best” shows us that ‘the other’ life might not be as glittering as it looks. There’s plenty to think about, but what doesn’t need much contemplation is that this sharply insightful play is rendered a must see by Asa Butterfield’s bold and brilliant performance.

SECOND BEST

Riverside Studios

Reviewed on 3rd February 20245

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Hugo Glendinning

Previously reviewed at this venue:

HERE YOU COME AGAIN | ★★★★ | December 2024

DECK THE STALLS | ★★★ | December 2024

THE UNSEEN | ★★★★ | November 2024

FRENCH TOAST | ★★★★ | October 2024

KIM’S CONVENIENCE | ★★★ | September 2024

THE WEYARD SISTERS | ★★ | August 2024

MADWOMEN OF THE WEST | ★★ | August 2024

MOFFIE | ★★★ | June 2024

KING LEAR | ★★★★ | May 2024

THIS IS MEMORIAL DEVICE | ★★★★ | April 2024

ARTIFICIALLY YOURS | ★★★ | April 2024

ALAN TURING – A MUSICAL BIOGRAPHY | ★★ | January 2024

SECOND BEST

★★★★

“a brittle and elegaic exploration of music, melancholy and missed opportunities”

When the band gets back together, there’s always going to be more to unpack than a muffled snare drum and a spare plectrum. The inventory will inevitably include revelations, regrets and ruminations on the roads not taken.

So it is for Elle, Ross and Joe who have lived a lifetime since their Salisbury-based trio cut a swathe across Wiltshire and surrounding counties. They were young then, and carefree. They return for a reunion gig in their 30s, but reluctantly, for they are different people now.

Barney Norris writes and directs The Band Back Together, a frequently funny, often mournful and never less than engaging examination of that rare and ephemeral thing – youthful friendships – and why they can never last. While the piece never hits any true emotional heights – the music doing the heavy lifting here – the pace never flags.

Joe (James Westphal) is the instigator of the reunion, prompted into action by a charity gig to raise money for the Salisbury Novichok poisonings of 2018.

They worry no one will remember that time when the cathedral city became the centre of global geo-political wrangling. They worry more, of course, that no one will remember the band (although they assure themselves that a 5pm start will guarantee a decent crop of 80-year-olds).

Joe is the one that never got away, staying in Salisbury all his life. He claims to be happy despite his agitation. Joe is abject with Westphal capturing the tics of someone living the wrong life in the wrong skin.

His first encounter with poised Ellie (Laura Evelyn) is an excruciating and often hilarious masterclass in awkwardness. It’s all mistimed fist bumps, angular hugs and bad taste banter that used to work but now hits hard. Cold coffee and cold comfort inform their tentative investigations into each other’s lives as they struggle to find rhythm.

“That’s depressing,” becomes Ellie’s wry refrain as Joe tries to convince her that everything worked out perfectly. Her own life – trying for a baby, settling down – is not without its troubles but Evelyn gives Ellie a playful air, smoothing the fragments of her distress.

Ross (Royce Cronin) is the third member of the band, arriving late. Like Ellie, he also escaped. He made it as a minor musician so, in this crowd, he can afford to be louche, provocative and arrogant. Cronin finds the sweet spot, never letting us cast him as villain.

Magically, this tense and feisty sparring melts to nothing when the band begins to play. In a nice touch, even their conversation becomes more poetic when spoken through a mic.

Credit to the versatile performers, the musical interludes are handsome and accomplished. The actors play live, and exceptionally well. In Arcola’s plain studio, with cables and stands, littering the space (Becci Kenning), it’s not difficult to imagine the sweaty-bricked backdrop of a pub rock venue in “Warminster and Trowbridge” where the band hit their heights.

Music has the power if not to heal the wounds at least provide relief. Then it’s back to the rigours of conflict. It turns out the trio can master the drums, keyboard and guitar but it is that pesky triangle that will be their undoing.

The Band Back Together is a brittle and elegaic exploration of music, melancholy and missed opportunities. This compact production, with three vital performances at its heart, will strike a chord with anyone who left themselves behind in order to grow up.

SECOND BEST

Riverside Studios

★★★★

“Butterfield navigates the journey with a fearless and faultless performance”

SECOND BEST

Riverside Studios

Reviewed on 3rd February 20245

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Hugo Glendinning

Previously reviewed at this venue:

SECOND BEST

SECOND BEST

SECOND BEST

THE BAND BACK TOGETHER at the Arcola Theatre

★★★★

“a brittle and elegaic exploration of music, melancholy and missed opportunities”

THE BAND BACK TOGETHER at the Arcola Theatre

Reviewed on 6th September 2024

by Giles Broadbent

Photography by Kate Hockenhull

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE BAND BACK TOGETHER

THE BAND BACK TOGETHER