'Second Best' review — Asa Butterfield is a quiet revelation as a man struggling to reconcile his past with his future

Read our review of Second Best, adapted by Barney Norris, now in performances at Riverside Studios to 22 February.

Fate is a twisty mistress; how certain events and choices determine the course of your life is something to which everyone can relate. Former Donmar Warehouse artistic director Michael Longhurst directs Asa Butterfield in this touching exploration of facing adulthood, attempting to reconcile yourself with lost dreams, and the perennial question of ‘What if?’.

Originally a novel by French author David Foenkinos, Barney Norris’s adaptation of Second Best begins in a Paris hospital. Martin paces the floor as he waits for the first scan of his new baby. As the prospect of fatherhood becomes more real, his thoughts turn to a pivotal point in his childhood and how his life has turned out since. In an intriguing twist, Martin reveals that he was down to the final two child actors auditioning to be Harry Potter, narrowly missing out to "he who cannot be named".

Foenkinos was inspired by a real-life anecdote from a Harry Potter casting director. At first, what follows appears to be about how this seismic event has impacted on Martin’s life so far. In reality, this thought-provoking and blackly comic play has much less to do with wizards, and much more to do with fear, loss, grief and, ultimately, love.

Martin is both delighted and terrified to be having a baby with his supportive wife Sophie. The uncertainty of impending fatherhood stirs up painful memories of losing his own father, which also coincided with missing out on the film role. All this loss is effectively a device to explore how trauma and heartache can manifest itself deeply within the psyche.

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.

Norris’s writing is naturalistic and occasionally very funny, although the tightness of the script starts to meander a little towards the end of the piece.

The production feels almost immersive. Fly Davis’s intriguing, bright, white set looks like a modern art installation, planting clues to the emerging story via random items dotted around the perimeter: a flickering old TV set, broken supermarket shelves stocked with crisps, and half a hospital bed secured high up on a side wall.

Longhurst’s pacy direction makes use of all the space, so Martin’s movement almost seems to reflect the restless flow of his mind. Paule Constable’s stark lighting and Richard Hammarton’s subtle sound design occasionally flicker and stutter in the same manner.

Second Best is a quietly poignant and emotive production. Established fans of Butterfield will not leave disappointed, but there is much for everyone to enjoy.

Second Best is at Riverside Studios to 22 February. Book Second Best tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: Second Best (Photos by Hugo Glendinning)