Skip to main content
Mother trouble
The relationship between an over-ambitious mother and her damaged daughters makes for a muddled evening of drama, finds MARY CONWAY
MONSTROUS: Laura Donnelly with Nicola Turner, Nancy Allsop, Lara McDonnell, Sophia Ally in The Hills of California

The Hills of California
Harold Pinter Theatre

DISAPPOINTMENT is sadly the biggest takeaway from Jez Butterworth’s new play at the Harold Pinter Theatre.

Set in Blackpool in 1976 – with flashbacks to the late 1950s – the story is of four sisters congregating at their old family guesthouse to mark the approaching death of their mother Veronica, who grimly suffers in an upstairs bedroom. One sister Jill (Helena Wilson) still lives with her mother; two others Ruby and Gloria (Ophelia Lovibond and Leanne Best) arrive with bitter tales of the effort it’s cost them to get there; and Joan – well – will she bother to come at all? And thereby hangs the tale.

Blackpool is famed for its promise of seaside pleasure for ordinary people. It also represents a kind of tackiness and impoverished aspiration that is represented in the play. The guest house, for instance, is called Seaview. That it has no sea view is indicative of the gap between dreams and reality as witnessed in this place, and by Veronica who, in her younger days, mercilessly drills her teenage daughters to become a song and dance troupe in the vein of the Andrews Sisters.  

Support the Morning Star
You can read five articles for free every month,
but please consider supporting us by becoming a subscriber.
More from this author
dealers
Theatre Review / 30 April 2025
30 April 2025

MARY CONWAY applauds the revival of a tense, and extremely funny, study of men, money and playing cards

BRUTAL PERSONIFICATION: Rosie Sheehy (Billie) and Hannah Morrish (Lydia) in The Brightening Air / Pic: Manuel Harlan
Theatre review / 29 April 2025
29 April 2025


MARY CONWAY applauds the study of a dysfunctional family set in an Ireland that could be anywhere

Matchless: Samuel Barnett and Victoria Yeates in Ben and Imo / Pic: Ellie Kurttz
Theatre Review / 28 April 2025
28 April 2025

MARY CONWAY relishes two matchless performers and a masterclass in tightly focused wordplay

A JOY TO WATCH: (l-r) Gabby Wong (Lan Ping, Jiang Qing) and
Culture / 14 April 2025
14 April 2025
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a production that panders – if inadvertently – to Western prejudice against China
Similar stories
SPOOKY FOLK: The Claras perform at Once&Future Festival / Pic: James Walsh
Festival preview / 23 April 2025
23 April 2025

Above a Gothic bar just down from Brighton station, something spooky is happening, suggests JAMES WALSH

Music / 17 March 2025
17 March 2025
New releases from Jenn Butterworth, Liz Overs, and Gigspanner Big Band
RAVISSANT! 12. Romola Garai, Gina McKee, Deborah Findlay, Ha
Theatre review / 7 February 2025
7 February 2025
MARY CONWAY recommends a beautifully judged performance that shines a light on the experience of all female war babies and boomers
MASSIVELY RELEVANT: The company in Cable Street
Best of 2024 / 18 December 2024
18 December 2024
A nervous year, showing that the theatre, like the world, stands on a precipice and seems uncertain where to jump