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

★★★★★

“as close to extraordinary as is physically possible”

Many years ago, as a young father, I often interrupted my children’s playtime by asking what they were doing. They never thought it an intrusion – always happy to answer. One particular day, in response to the question my daughter responded with “I’m trying to be normal”. Five minutes later she had completely forgotten the conversation (possibly the ice cream van, or the urgent matter of shouting at her little brother took precedence), but it lingered with me for some time. I think I had answered in my usual flippant way with something like “join the club” or “aren’t we all?”. I never thought of bursting into song. Decades later the perfect answer is delivered to me from the West End stage.

“I don’t need a life that’s normal
That’s way too far away
But something next to normal
Would be okay
Yes, something next to normal
That’s the thing I’d like to try
Close enough to normal to get by”

When Eleanor Worthington-Cox delivers the lines towards the end of the second act in Tom Kitt’s (Music) and Brian Yorkey’s (book and lyrics) astonishing musical, there’s not a dry eye in the house, yet there’s also a collective feeling of elation that ripples through the auditorium. “Next to Normal” obviously addresses the subject of mental health but it never feels that way. The message (if there is one) or the answer (there isn’t one) runs subliminally beneath a musical that soars to the heights.

Worthington-Cox is Natalie, the daughter to Diana (Caissie Levy) who grapples with her bipolar disorder. In principle it is Diana’s story. A heart-wrenching one. In reality it is everyone’s story. Levy is simply stunning in the lead role, capturing with undiluted precision and sympathy all the highs and lows of her roller-coaster condition, guiding us through the funny moments to the achingly sad and tragic. Levy is surrounded by five other lead players, for this is an ensemble piece. Husband Dan (the magnificent Jamie Parker) battles to understand, often picking up the pieces and trying to get through another day. Initially it all seems normal. The angst-ridden daughter and the waif-like son, Gabe (Jack Wolfe), getting ready for school. But how quickly it all unravels – until the bombshell arrives quite early on. It won’t be long before the whole capital knows the twist, but until then I’m keeping mum.

The medical profession is not so much made fun of, but scrutinised with comic genius by the writers. Trevor Dion Nicholas plays two different doctors – the aptly named Dr. Madden and Dr. Fine – lightening the mood with darkness each time he arrives on stage, littering the space with pill boxes, black humour, dubious cures or just the aura of a Rock God. Another subplot is supplied by the blossoming relationship between Natalie and school chum Henry (Jack Ofrecio) which mirrors the elder couple’s in a frighteningly authentic, cyclical way. Jack Wolfe, of course, is sublimely shadowy as Gabe. Whilst his character is fighting to be seen and not forgotten, there is no denying that the beauty of his voice can be heard near and far and the tones will be remembered for a long time.

The musical will linger in the memory for even longer. The score is magical. One moment light and catchy, another aching and haunting. The manic ‘It’s Gonna be Good’ sits comfortably alongside Levy’s aching rendition of the soaring ‘I Miss the Mountains’. Vulnerability and despair, heartache and longing, love and guilt have all never been served better in song. Interspersed between the numbers are some brilliantly succinct one-liners that sum up decades of medical hypothesis. The fact that they are dressed in cloaks of humour add poignancy to the already impassioned performances. ‘Most people who think they are happy haven’t thought about it enough’

Nobody has to think hard at all to realise that “Next to Normal” is as close to extraordinary as is physically possible. ‘There will be light’, we are told in the uplifting closing number. But it is far from a cloying sentiment, as a tangible question mark still hangs in the air. And for the moment, the light is refracted through tears – of sadness and of joy. Heart-breaking, heart-warming and life-affirming, this musical is more than a must see.

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

NEXT TO NORMAL at Wyndham’s Theatre

★★★★★

“as close to extraordinary as is physically possible”

NEXT TO NORMAL at Wyndham’s Theatre

Reviewed on 26th June 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Marc Brenner

Previously reviewed at this venue:

NEXT TO NORMAL

NEXT TO NORMAL