The Hills of California - Harold Pinter Theatre

Harry for the win.

It’s definitely veering that way though…

I am not familiar with any of the cast, I have seen the Ferryman but was so far away from the stage I might as well have been at home watching tv ahah. I hope it is revived so I can see it properly. Is this cast a bit underwhelming? I don't know.

Excellent cast and I don't see a problem with Jez casting his partner who is an award winning actress in her own right in his plays. She would have been around when he is writing it and no doubt helping with read throughs how things sound.

Also some excellent leading female roles so that is always nice to see.

Big fan of Laura Donnelly's and the N7 seat I had for A Little Life was going for £30 during previews, so I've bought myself a ticket for the second night.

It keeps bugging me that Laura Donnelly has been cast in this.

Controversial one here but I think that both of his ‘hit’ plays are massively overrated, overhyped and overlong.

A friend and I recently had a conversation about the best filmmakers and one thing they have in common is writing and directing very ‘lean’ pictures. Butterworth is the antithesis of this.

I have no doubt that this will sell out but I also have no doubt that alongside the ‘we see all great theatre at £150 per ticket’ wealthy west end crowd will be a lot of people there to say they’ve seen the play or because of the hype (or both)

Most come out of his plays confused and pretend to understand what the hell was really going on having sat through hours of meandering, dreary, and often pointless dialogue.

That said, there have been some well directed moments, nice stage performances and design elements in his plays but for me that’s about it.

I understand this could all sound a bit on the bitter side but I’m just not enthused at all by another new Jez Butterworth play.

Just my one opinion though and it will remain in the unpopular minority!

For me the meandering is part of the attraction. I like good plays that leave me feeling a bit puzzled, and unsure about what the meaning was, or what the characters represented, so I’m going back to them in my head over months and years.

Of course there are plenty of plays where that meandering is just poor or underdeveloped writing, but they are quickly forgettable. When it’s good it stays with me, e.g. I often see/read something that makes me think about Jerusalem and throws a different light on something about the play.

Of course I like well-written leaner plays too, but I disagree with the idea that leanness or clarity are the measures of quality in theatre (or films, novels or any arts).

I like his plays. I love a meandering play that gives time for character development. Laura Donnelly is a good actress.
There’s plenty else out there if you don’t fancy it.
Nothing beats theatre.

I wonder where you got this information from? I think I might have heard if Ipsos were conducting exit polls on Jez Butterworth plays. Maybe YouGov have an online poll active as I type this. Or maybe you just lazily plucked it from between your bum cheeks...

For what it's worth, in this labyrinth of subjective opinions, I think "meandering" can often be used as a pejorative term - but when it comes to plays I think deliberately taking the audience on a journey that moves up and down and side to side in a satisfying manner is to be celebrated. Who wants to go in a straight line, and in record time? If you are going to get on the water and be told a story then Jez Butterworth at the tiller is about as good as it gets right now.

Jez's plays can be long but there are read throughs and workshops plus producer and director input so things would be tightened up were necessary.

does the title of this remind anyone else of 'the old red hills of home'? been listening to too much parade...