Reviews: The Hills of California

The name Jez Butterworth usually comes hand in hand with his magnum opus: Jerusalem. Having written a text often heralded as one of the best plays of the century, it is hard for pressure not to mount for his most recent theatre premiere: The Hills of California.

Following their multi-award-winning triumph, The Ferryman, Butterworth is joined by Sam Mendes, director of The Lehman Trilogy to return to the West End with this production.

Much like Butterworth's previous works, this text paints a dynamic portrait of a collection of characters, although this time it is set in a family-run hotel in Blackpool in the heatwave of 1976. Four sisters reunite by their mother's bedside, chopping between flashbacks to their childhood where they were raised to be a sparkly troupe of performers. As the play progresses, alliances devolve into childish quips and jibes, only brought together by the impending grief of their mother's death.

The play is an incredible portrayal of family dynamics, capturing truthful relationships that I am sure most of us with siblings can relate to. It also deals with some harrowing topics, covering sexual assault and sexism among other elements.

The conclusion of the play is unfortunately broad brush, leaving me wanting more for many of the characters I had grown to love.

However, for students who want to see some amazing character development, and a good use of time jumps with a parallel cast, this is a brilliant play to dissect.

I would also recommend a number of the monologues and duologues for A Level students looking for new material, as the dialogue was witty engaging, while having serious undertones.

The stunning set from Rob Howell twists and turns to flit between past and present by physical movement of huge stairs inside the hotel. This is complimented by a stunning and multi-faceted performance by Butterworth's partner Laura Donnelly as the mother of the family in the flashbacks, and the dramatic runaway sister retuning to Blackpool in ‘76.

If you are looking for strong female leads and intense pressure-cooker situations, this is your play.