★★★★★ REVIEW: The Hills of California (West End) | the new Jez Butterworth play at the Harold Pinter
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- Опубликовано: 4 авг 2024
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OHMYGOD HEY!
Last night, I was lucky enough to be invited to review a hugely anticipated new play - The Hills of California.
The play, written by Jez Butterworth (Jerusalem, The Ferryman) and directed by Sam Mendes, has just opened at the Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End.
Check out today's new video review for my many thoughts on this show, its revelations, and its powerful performances.
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00:00 | introduction
02:27 | synopsis
07:30 | the writing
11:43 | SPOILER thoughts
22:33 | performances
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I went on Tuesday with my daughter in law. The play was very deep and meaningful and the stage was beautifully set. I found the heart of the matter very powerful and would 100 percent recommend it. The cast couldn’t have played their parts better. A standing ovation at the end says it all!
To call this “Gypsy” meets “August: Osage County” is totally on point, and I would add Enda Walsh’s “The New Electric Ballroom” and “The Glass Menagerie” as being echoes of this wonderful play. Even if it’s not as compelling as “The Ferryman” (I didn’t see “Jerusalem,” unfortunately) it’s amazing. It’s a tale that has been told before, but Butterworth tells this one wonderfully, and it’s another triumphant showcase for Laura Donnelly’s complicated portrayal of a mother whose drive to give her daughters a better life is both powerful and overpowering. The three hours fly by, and it’s well-worth seeing.
I adored this play and found it almost unbearably heartbreaking. The scenes in the fifties reminded me of the great Tennessee Williams play, "The Glass Menagerie." Thanks for your detailed response.
I come to London just for the theatre every few months and absolutely love your channel. I think your reviews are brilliant and you have always been spot on! Thank you for these!
Your reviews are beyond brilliant, Mickey Jo!
Saw this during previews and was waiting for your opinion!!! It was extremely evocative and so so fantastic
I saw it yesterday last day. Loved it so much! ❤
Thank you for the excellent, insightful review of the story, the directing, and the performances. I was fascinated when I saw The Ferryman on Broadway and am not at all surprised that Lara McDonnell continues to shine on stage, having been impressed by her talent back to her days as Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre. Sadly, I won’t be back in London until early July, and will miss this production as it closes its short run in June at the Harold Pinter.
Saw it two weeks ago.Really enjoyed it. Compelling story. Beautifully acted. Climactic moment….youcould feel audience members holding their breath, hearts pounding.
Saw this in May. Of the four plays I saw, this was my favorite. I only wish that I could have seen it on successive nights because in seeing it only once I am confident that I missed some meaningful details and failed to fully appreciate some superb acting. The ending was startling but appropriate.
Your review is the first I have seen from you and I enjoyed it greatly. You clearly have an encyclopedic knowledge of British theater
Loved it! Strong undertones of my favourite play, The Glass Menagerie
thanks so much for the review would love to see this play but don't want to wait half an hour to an hour to get into this play. my first broadway musical was peter had 2 intermissions was so wrong and in the second act kids began falling asleep. my dad said i was loving it and stayed up throughout the entire performance. do you think it will come to broadway in the next few years?. thanks in advance.
Was planning on catching up on TV shows tomorrow and my TV just broke 🤣 so looked up which matinees are available for rush tickets on TodayTix tomorrow and after watching this review (I skipped the spoiler bits) I will definitely try and get a ticket for The Hills Of California 👍👍
In common with many aspects of life previously taken for granted, the entertainment and performing arts are going through a process of restructuring and evaluation. In addition, the demographics of the theatre-going public are also changing. Who goes to the cinema these days..? How often do people go to the theatre these days compared to ten years ago..?
Wow…it sounds like a very intense and perhaps triggering night of theater
Please help me .. what's the song in the jukebox? 🤔 🙏 x
Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones. What a moment that was!!!
I've never seen the play The Hills of California. I have, however, seen the actual hills of California. 🌄
Also, I didn’t compare it with Gypsy in my mind, but with ‘this property is condemned’ with Natalie Wood 1960’s
I thought the arrival of adult Joan was one of most amazing set pieces I’ve ever seen on the West End.
Then I feel the way adult Joan was presented was quite hammy. It was somewhat over egged and really took away from a near stellar show.
The ending was brilliant.
The end , sisters talking and telling each other about their flaws. Seen this gazillions times and perfect Osage county and gipsy
The Hills of California is brilliant. Packed house, standing ovation, great family drama. Thank God, I’ve seen some awful theatre recently.
Eh? 😅
@@MickeyJoTheatresorry Mickey, my comment ended up with the wrong review video - how that happened, who knows! Evil 19 bus. I’ll edit and change the comment.
I saw this a few weeks ago and and had a very different experience compared to all of the reviews that I have since read/watched.
I don't think that it is a bad play, but I really did not connect with this work. A good majority of the jokes used to try to break the tension within the play fell flat for me, but most of the audience seemed to find them absolutely hilarious, leaving me to wonder what exactly was I missing.
There were moments of genius (the flash back sequences in particular worked much better than the present scenes and the set design with the revolving stage and the Escher like stairs that the actors had to navigate, were both evocatively disorienting and a clever devise to differentiate the two running time lines) but over all, it felt like a rough first draft, that needed more time to be workshopped and refined. It all read as though the the key creatives were too afraid to cut anything, resulting in a play that feels too long and perhaps really does not need to be told in three acts.
Mickey has recently talked about prestige directors getting access to prime real estate locations in the West End way before their productions are ready (à la 'Opening Night') and I can't help but feel that perhaps Sam Mendes and Jez Butterworth have also fallen foul of this.
So how did that conversation go? Did Jez Butterworth just go up to his wife and mother of his children and say “hey, I wrote this character for you. She’s a neglectful parent who let her daughter get abused by a stranger… Also a washed up actress whose family doesn’t actually like her very much”
Like, there’s no way that wasn’t an awkward pitch, right? 🤣
It's sooo Gypsy
writers write sad stories without ra/pe in them challenge failed again.
It's rape as entertainment. Men writing feminism and rape of women (Ulster American also did this) always ends up being so exploitative and problematic. It needs to stop