Second Best West End Reviews

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. Masterfu...

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.

Making his stage debut, Sex Education’s Asa Butterfield whooshes the action along, moving economically between characters (his switch to playing Martin’s stepfather is all in the shoulders) and exuding a charm that is never ingratiating. Indeed, ...

Making his stage debut, Sex Education’s Asa Butterfield whooshes the action along, moving economically between characters (his switch to playing Martin’s stepfather is all in the shoulders) and exuding a charm that is never ingratiating. Indeed, there is real finesse in his ability to inhabit a man who is in need without seeming needy. Parts of this one-person play could be fortified and fleshed-out, but no one could apply its title to his performance.

Asa Butterfield of Sex Education fame makes his stage debut in Second Best and he is undoubtedly a very good actor. He does well with the material he is given to try and connect with his audience. An acclaimed screen actor, he occasionally struggled ...

Asa Butterfield of Sex Education fame makes his stage debut in Second Best and he is undoubtedly a very good actor. He does well with the material he is given to try and connect with his audience. An acclaimed screen actor, he occasionally struggled to keep fully embodied in his character which is a hard job for anyone as the only actor on stage for 90 minutes straight through. Not once does he leave the stage. One person performances are the greatest challenge an actor can face but Butterfield was warm and likeable yet seemed occasionally disconnected from the material itself. For me ultimately this production was just somewhat lacking. It needed more life and light especially for a comedy. Perhaps however watching a character grapple with mental health while finding hope and meaning in life was rather the point.

Asa Butterfield came to fame as Otis in Netflix’s Sex Education and will be a huge draw for many. He makes a highly assured stage debut here. It’s quite the task to hold an audience’s attention alone for 90 minutes straight-through. However, Bu...

Asa Butterfield came to fame as Otis in Netflix’s Sex Education and will be a huge draw for many. He makes a highly assured stage debut here. It’s quite the task to hold an audience’s attention alone for 90 minutes straight-through. However, Butterfield is convincing and compelling as both Martin and his imitations of a variety of other characters, such as an overbearing film producer and his mother’s bullying boyfriend. Butterfield really inhabits the role; he is both very likeable and hugely vulnerable.

Barney Norris’s script — based on a novella by the French writer David Foenkinos — explores obsessive thoughts about the road not taken. Butterfield, better known as the awkward Otis Milburn in the TV series, is very assured, pacing back and fo...

Barney Norris’s script — based on a novella by the French writer David Foenkinos — explores obsessive thoughts about the road not taken. Butterfield, better known as the awkward Otis Milburn in the TV series, is very assured, pacing back and forth on a glossy white letterbox set strewn with odd items of furniture and bric-a-brac, including a video camera on which he reprises his first, fateful audition. Imagine an innocent ten-year-old being asked to switch between looking vulnerable, hopeful and cheerful in seconds.