Amber-Rae Stobbs — Theater Critic

With perfectly crafted plot-twists that led the audience in-and-out of their comfort zones, Second Best is a piece to be in awe of. The staging and set showcased a model example of direction and not hiding the actors behind an intricate set. Masterfully directed by Michael Longhurst, the play had me gripped from the start - presumably down to having Butterfield on stage even when we're walking in, which is always a plus in my book.

As I’m sure we all can agree, when you see a production, more often than not, there is one song that we would believe okay if it were cut. A song that either didn't resonate with you, wasn’t your taste, or maybe didn’t aid the story very well. And that is normal. It’s good to have opinions. However, stepping out of the theatre last night, I couldn’t think of a single song that did not deserve to be there. In musical theatre, when a character cannot express how they feel in spoken text, they sing. Every ounce of their being pushes them to sing. The majority of this production is sung, leaving the moments that are purely spoken to really hit - almost like a reverse effect of the normal musical theatre structure - and wow does it work!