The Hills of California

This production, by Sutton Arts, was the most powerful play I have seen in a long time.  Jez Butterworth’s play was an outstanding piece of writing and well staged by this talented group of actors.

The piece takes place in a Blackpool Guesthouse in August 1976 and May 1955.  We open in 1976 where the mother and owner of the guest house, Seaview, where you cannot see the sea, Veronica is dying and her Three daughters, Jillian, Ruby and Gloria are waiting for the arrival of their fourth sister Joan. 

But just when you think you’ve got the measure of the play, the show travels back to 20 years earlier, when the Webb sisters were growing up at Seaview.

Once this flashback takes place, the show really starts to take off. By going back this allows us to see the dreams the girls once had and what happened and explains why Joan left, which, when revealed, is a big twist in this play.

The four sisters were played by Phebe Bland, Michelle Dawes, Laura Hinton and Emily Armstrong.  There worked so well together, and their acting was outstanding and powerful.   It was one of those plays that you could not take your eyes off the stage.

I enjoyed watching the acting of the performers of these four characters in 1955, Sophia Mae Firkins, Gracie Reynolds, Marnie Brown and Ava Cattell.   They gave us the background and the reason the adults turned out as they did. 

They were supported by a wonderful cast, some of them taking more than one role, I don’t know how they did it.  What a team.

The set was another triumph for the set builders at Sutton Arts.  It looked what it was supposed to be, down to every detail and the costumes were just right for the time of the piece.

Emily Armstrong not only had a role in the production but directed it did a fantastic job and should be congratulated.

Well done to everyone involved, not only on stage but behind the scenes, a great piece of theatre.

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