James Norton cuts a stylish figure in a crisp white shirt and high slung navy trousers at the 71st San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain

James Norton made a stylish presentation in a white shirt and navy blue trousers at the 71st San Sebastian International Film Festival on Sunday.

The Happy Valley star, 38, looked dapper as he posed on the red carpet as he arrived at the Spanish festival.

The actor seemed happy and relaxed as he showed off his best polka face for the photographers.

He wore a thick gold chain and a pair of shiny black patent boots.

James posed for photos with his hands in his pockets and also smiled sweetly for the cameras.

Brave: James Norton, 38, puts on a stylish display in a white shirt and navy trousers at the 71st San Sebastian International Film Festival on Sunday

Stylish: The Happy Valley star looked dapper as he posed on the red carpet as he arrived at the Spanish festival

Stylish: The Happy Valley star looked dapper as he posed on the red carpet as he arrived at the Spanish festival

Last month, James joined his A Little Life co-stars at the play’s wrap party at 1 Hotel in Mayfair.

The West End play had divided critics and left audiences traumatized by the graphic portrayals of suicide, self-harm and pedophilia on stage.

An attendee at the Richmond Theatre, where the retelling of Hanya Yanagihara’s 2015 book opened before heading to The Savoy, said they made the decision to leave in the interim after the “relentless misery” became too much for them.

Another audience member called the adaptation, staged by director Ivo Van Hove, “perhaps the most disturbing, unflinchingly brutal and explicit piece I have ever seen.”

The show, which runs a whopping 3 hours and 40 minutes and will soon transfer to the Savoy Theatre, features a star-studded cast including James, It’s A Sin actor Omari Douglas and Bridgerton’s Luke Thompson.

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2015, the book became a word-of-mouth hit and won the author a following of devoted fans.

The novel is 814 pages long and follows four classmates from a small American college who move to New York and their relationships with each other, as well as complex issues such as sexual abuse, disability and addiction.

After attending the first performances, fans of the play took to social media to express their shock at how “raw” the production is.

Chilled: The actor seemed happy and relaxed as he showed off his best polka face for the photographers

Chilled: The actor seemed happy and relaxed as he showed off his best polka face for the photographers

Happy: James posed for photos with his hands in his pockets and also smiled sweetly for the cameras

Happy: James posed for photos with his hands in his pockets and also smiled sweetly for the cameras

Trendy: he wore a thick gold chain and a pair of shiny black patent boots

Trendy: he wore a thick gold chain and a pair of shiny black patent boots

Cast: (L-R) Omari Douglas, Luke Thompson, James Norton and Emilio Doorgasingh

Cast: (L-R) Omari Douglas, Luke Thompson, James Norton and Emilio Doorgasingh

Say cheese: One contestant said they made the decision to leave at halftime after the 'relentless misery' became too much for them (L-R) Luke Thompson, James Norton, Nathalie Armin and Omari Douglas

Say cheese: One contestant said they made the decision to leave at halftime after the ‘relentless misery’ became too much for them (L-R) Luke Thompson, James Norton, Nathalie Armin and Omari Douglas

One wrote: ‘#Just made it to the break from ‘A Little Life’. 1 hour and 50 minutes of brutal misery was more than enough for me….(I understand it didn’t end ‘happily’) #Alittlelifeplay.”

A fellow audience member wrote: ‘#ALittleLifePlay is brutal. Ruthlessly brutal. But also beautiful theatre. The entire cast shines. But it’s James Norton who is the powerhouse. Barely more than 3.5 hours off stage, this is perhaps his best work. Award-winning stuff. But not for the faint of heart!’

Another added: ‘Possibly the most disturbing, unflinchingly brutal and explicit piece I have ever seen and is definitely not for the faint of heart. The entire cast is amazing and James Norton is an absolute powerhouse in this heartbreaking epic.”

One theatergoer wrote on Twitter: “It feels wrong to say you liked something when the content is so raw and difficult, but I’m thrilled to have seen this masterpiece come to life in such a thoughtful way.”

The novel became a critically acclaimed bestseller, with famous fans including Dua Lipa, who said on her podcast that the book “changed her life.”

The piece left critics divided over Daily Mail’s Luke Jones. In his four-star review, he said the show was “A little grim but worth the pain.”

While The independentAlice Saville gave the production two stars and called it a “A naive and psychologically unnew story of abuse.”

A Little Life: What the Critics Said

Daily email

Judgement:

Norton takes us from young boy to exhausted middle-aged man – then flickers effortlessly between the two – with absolute credibility and heartbreaking vulnerability.

The independent

Judgement:

“If you want to be immersed in the pain of others, go to the emergency room for four hours: it’s cheaper, just as painful, and you can pee whenever you want.”

Financial times

Judgement:

‘There are major problems in translating the novel to the stage that Van Hove has not been able to overcome, and the problems therein are amplified.’

New statesman

‘What do I feel when watching Ivo van Hove’s stage adaptation? Boredom? Fatigue?’

‘A sudden affinity with those poor Facebook moderators, locked in a windowless room for hours by images of the worst human suffering: rape, torture, child abuse, self-harm?’

The Telegraph

Judgement:

‘The book has been accused of increasing the pain, but it doesn’t feel unnecessary here.’

‘Norton is excellent at suggesting hidden depths, the impassiveness that arises in the exploitative company of a Catholic monk who first befriended him and then betrayed him. Norton literally exposes himself and causes self-destructive damage.”