We round up the reviews for the latest collaboration between playwright Jez Butterworth and director Sam Mendes.
Broadway World: **** “There’s lots to enjoy here; Butterworth’s poetic verbosity is in full evidence, along with savage humour, painful pathos and simmering rage. There is sharp criticism of motherhood, in many forms, with more than a few nods to Gypsy‘s Mama Rose in Veronica’s behaviour, her ambition blinding her to the severity of the consequences of her actions.”
The Guardian: *** “There are lovely bits nonetheless including effervescent verbal riffs and snatches of song, although sentimentality and nostalgia soften the edges. Butterworth is reaching for the epic and there is a characteristic daring in that ambition but Rob Howell’s gorgeous set, dominated by a beautiful staircase, has heights and depths that the play itself does not reach.”
The Stage: ***** “Playwright Jez Butterworth follows up 2017’s The Ferryman with this female-led, beautifully layered exploration of family, memory and music, directed by Sam Mendes.”
London Theatre.co.uk: ***** “All four sisters are carefully delineated by Butterworth and expertly performed by an accomplished cast. Helena Wilson brings quiet desperation to the role of loyal, highly strung Jill, who has given up her own life to care for her mother; Ophelia Lovibond as good natured, excitable Ruby steals laughs with zingy one-liners; anger and stress courses through Leanne Best’s no-nonsense Gloria; and, finally, there’s Laura Donnelly as distant, damaged Joan, the only one who escapes to the hills of California. Donnelly is also excellent as Veronica in the 1950s scenes, portraying a pushy, ambitious mother, who wants her daughters to become the next Andrews Sisters and tap dance their way to the London Palladium.”
West End Best Friend: ***** “Despite The Hills of California being a 3-hour show with some heavy themes, it manages to retain some levity, with humour being the highlight of the play. The Northern banter and sarcasm are brilliantly executed, and there are some punchy one-liners layered with a bubbling wit throughout. Exploring relationships, family dynamics, and the oft-differing versions of the same memory, the ensemble cast are truly captivating, with the embittered Gloria (Leanne Best) bouncing beautifully off the sarcastic Ruby (Ophelia Lovibond) and the repressed Jill (Helena Wilson); they are all individually and collectively exceptional.”
All That Dazzles: ***** “Sam Mendes’ direction is every bit as jaw-dropping as Jez Butterworth’s writing with every detail meticulously thought out, leading to complex, precise and note-perfect choices at every turn.”
The Telegraph: **** “A fine female cast powers this smart new play by Jez Butterworth about abuse, estrangement and mortality”
Evening Standard: **** “Donnelly’s is a sublime, physically exact performance of a woman who keeps everything under tight control, even her own sensuality, to avert collapse.”
Time Out: **** “Butterworth for the most part writes the Webbs wonderfully: smart, tough, vulnerable women left in different shades of disarray over a childhood dream that never came to be. They feel like tangible, real beings, grounded in a world in which the men are largely absurd background figures – weak husbands like Bryan Dick’s hapless Dennis, or Shawn Dooley’s infuriating Mr Halliwell, an unreconstructed weirdo who can communicate only in bad jokes.”
The Jewish Chronicle: **** “The Hills of California is hugely enjoyable, achingly poignant and brimful of humour spiced with brassy northern wit. If I have a gripe, however, it is that Mendes and Butterworth deploy their vast experience of being among the finest theatre makers of their generation by using well-worn dramatic techniques.”
The FT: ***** “Sam Mendes’ beautifully paced production surfs time, place and mood and is gloriously acted.”
Culture Whisper: **** “The Hills of California is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant works you’ll see on stage this year. Darkly funny in places, wholly relatable in its portrayal of sibling rivalry and a fine example that the most fascinating stories unfold in everyday homes.”
Radio Times: **** “Are there moments when the runtime is felt? Yes. But in the end, this doesn’t matter one bit, as the blend of levity, heartbreak and sisterly bonds is enough to keep you sucked in. Overall, the Hills of California is a strong and deftly handled exploration of death and bereavement with the potential to resonate with anyone.”
The Independent: *** “The world of this play is an intriguing and satisfying place to spend three hours. There are fine performances, sweet harmonies, and buckets of retro atmosphere. But is there gold in them thar hills? Not this time, alas.”
Theatre & Tonic: **** “Butterworth weaves this slow burner with care and class. Even the humour is tinged with sadness. Not for one moment over this play’s 3 acts and near 3 hour running time (minus an interval and a short pause) are you bored or clock watching. The stage is tense and the subtext is hidden in plain sight. Ultimately though there is a small piece missing from the play. – it doesn’t quite roar as it should.”
WhatsOnStage: **** “Line by line, scene by scene, The Hills of California holds the attention. It’s possibly only because of the exalted standards expected of Butterworth that somehow it remains an interesting evening rather than a revelatory one.”
iNews: **** “Donnelly is magnificent as Veronica, a strict single mother with intriguing moral grey areas, who runs the Sea View like a cross between a detention facility and Butlin’s. She blazes throughout, while Wilson, an actress I have long admired, simmers beautifully, suggesting all of the possibly agoraphobic Jill’s love, loyalty and stunted life chances.”
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