The Hills of California - Harold Pinter Theatre

If TodayTix aren't doing rush I'll probably opt for standing - annoying it's back of the balcony though and not back of the Royal Circle as it was for Prima Facie and A Little Life...

I didn't really have an urge to see this, but when they announced the £10 front row tickets for the previews I couldn't resist giving it a go! I've no idea what it's about, for a tenner I'm willing to find out 🤣

Which row were you in? Is (or was) row B front row as have tickets for that row.

Well. First preview tonight.

The Ferryman (x2 with the cast changes) followed by Jersusalem I have watched before so feel like major FOMO if I don't see this one by Jezz Butterworth.

Wow, that's a long one! Dying to hear some feedback for this.

I loved it tonight! Nothing grips you by the throat just as much as Jez’s plays.. the revolve is there for a reason and works perfectly for dividing scenes in time and actors movement.
The cast is excellent all around but the young girls were the highlight! I like a bit of song and dance too, so to have that joy in a play that shade of dark is really rewarding.
I guess this show will trigger some more than the others and on different levels, I related to it as a sister myself.

What time did it finish this evening?

I remember the *pause* during Ferryman and the ushers trying to keep everyone seated. It was punishing.

In the absence of a programme, I wasn’t sure what time period this was supposed to be set in (going by some of the comments the latter day parts are set in the mid 70s) and it took until the second act to put things into place: to tell the truth, I only had a vague idea about what this is about prior to sitting down to watch it and the first half an hour or so were the total opposite of The Ferryman (I never saw Jerusalem and the price of tickets on its last run out me right off it) and the first half an hour or so seemed like some generic TV programme set in the North like Where The Heart Is or Peak Practice so it took me a while to get involved with the characters but it then builds and builds and I was impressed by the end (it never seemed to drag):the last few scenes are a punctuation of the whole music scene of the American West Coast being some kind of artistic dream with a big portion of Me Too thrown in as well. I won’t say anything more as I could easily go into spoiler territories but I really liked the performances and singing from the younger generation of girls playing the sisters and I was impressed that for a play running well over three hours, there was no obvious flubbing of lines on its first performance.

I only saw that the new play from Jez Butterworth and Sam Mendes was going on sale in October last year and seeing the mad rush there has been for the previous plays, I just booked a ticket and left it at that (I was in Vegas at the time tickets went on sale, it was done unholy hour when I booked it) but sometimes it’s good to see shows only knowing the bare minimum of what it’s about, only who write it and/or who produced it.

It’s a long evening but strangely didn’t feel so - 7pm start time helps and a slow but intense burn with Jez Butterworth’s usual mix of humour, tragedy and dark edge. It isn’t quite the riotous spiritual bacchanal of Jerusalem or the explosive blend of politics and romance of The Ferryman but something in a more minor key, perhaps a little more slight.

Not a dud performance in there. Laura Donnelly gets to show real range - crisp sharp precision and then burnt-out lethargy, but it really is beautifully played across the board. It’s by no means a musical but some lovely harmony singing - Ophelia Lovibond has a truly terrific singing voice. The youngsters are all great and everyone in the cast gets at least one moment to shine.

So I think they’ve got another hit on their hands. It’s 3 acts and split like The Ferryman with an interval between Acts 1 & 2, and then a couple of minutes with the house lights at half while they reset the stage between Acts 2 & 3. If I had any comment, I’d have swapped them and done the proper interval in the second gap as the end of Act 2 is so strong and sort of the clarifying moment around which the whole thing revolves, whereas at the interval I couldn’t quite tell what it was or where it was headed. I was enjoying the characters and the writing but plot-wise it kicks into gear later on. To the point where I was caught quite off guard by how emotionally affecting the final scenes are.

I'm in for the matinee next Sat!