Second Best

Riverside Studios

Hard hitting and emotional performance by Asa Butterfield. A one man show about being in the final two for the role of Harry Potter, what life could've been and how life ended up being.

How does it feel to live MY DREAM? Is exactly the question Asa Butterfield, 'Sex Education' (Netflix) star, is asking in his role of 'Martin Hill' in the one man show 'Second Best'. The show questions fate and how if things were different how it could have altered their life. His character was so close to getting the part of 'Harry Potter' in the JK Rowling films. He was in the final two and then his chance of fame, stardom and a role he felt was made for him was stolen from his hands. The piece follows Martin as he relives the traumatic events that followed after the loss of his new opportunity, how his life came crashing down, everywhere he turned he was reminded of what could have been his and who stole it from him. Also, how the cast seem to have this amazing life, and he feels he turned into the real-life Harry Potter. This show is impactful, deep and comic at times; it really makes you think about what life could be if you had a different path.

Asa Butterfield grasps the audience with his personable performance, you feel like he is having a conversation with just you and the rest of the room is not there. It's clear he worked hard to carve his character out, understand their story and radiate the emotions that the character experiences. It is an 80-minute emotional journey; you empathise with him as the vulnerable character opens up to the audience. He takes full advantage of the space and moves with purpose, each movement shows his feelings, reveals the environment of the story he is telling and gives the piece depth; displaying the openness of the piece. The only moment that was difficult to watch was when he climbs a wooden cupboard, that is on wheels to climb a ladder into a hospital bed that is close to the ceiling. This moment character breaks, because you can tell the Butterfield is doing it safely to avoid falling and whilst he is talking and doing this, it just feel because the cupboard moves as he climbs onto it he breaks character and it is hard to watch, because you're worried he will fall. However, this does give the idea of the unstable mental state his character portrays.

Each design choice has fantastic attention to detail, each item and element of scenery made perfect sense as the story unfolded. The setting seemed to be within the character's head, images of his memories, items that are significant to him and images to show the life that he lives. There is this stunning moment where he pulls out a tin foil blanket, this is symbolic of how his character kept the tin foil wrapping from the sandwiches his dad had made for him when he was a child. This highlighted how important his dad was to him and what the tin foil meant to him, how he appreciated the effort his dad put in. Each addition that is made to the set, such as frames added to the wall, the hospital bed and the cupboard and how it opens out to reveal props paint a picture of the character's story and what moments have impacted his life. The design of the piece ties everything together, is clearly very well thought out and is interesting to watch, because you piece it all together.

An interesting concept and well written piece of theatre. Asa Butterfield was a fantastic casting; the role was perfect for him and his acting style. He is so interesting to watch and his character arc and how he slowly starts to piece together the message of the piece it becomes very poignant. The mix of comedy to serious moments keeps the audience on its toes, however the moments the lights flicker, he starts to jerk it and it does not feel natural, it taints the serious tone of these moments, there should be more of a build up to them. However, this is a high quality one man show, and Asa Butterfield keeps the audience attached to this show and his character for the while 80 minutes. A brilliant piece of theatre and a unique story!