Harold Pinter Theatre, London

After his huge successes with Jerusalem and The Ferryman, there are inevitably high hopes for a new play by Jez Butterworth, especially with Sam Mendes, who directed The Ferryman, at the helm. If The Hills Of California didn’t quite live up to those expectations for the majority of the critics, it nevertheless garnered reviews most playwrights and producers would be more than happy with. Far from the West Coast of the USA, the story is set in a guest house in Blackpool. Four daughters assemble around their dying mother back in the long, hot summer of 1976. Grief and rivalry infuse the siblings’ relationships.  The drama swings between that time and their youth when their mother was grooming them to be another Andrews Sisters. For many of the critics, it was a fine play but too slow. The ending provided an unsatisfactory denouement for quite a few of them, although, for the Telegraph, it ‘worked like a dream’.

The only heavyweight critic to give a five star review was Sarah Hemming in the Financial Times (5★) who said: ‘The playwright catches again the quality of a time and place and its significance as metaphor… (but) what makes his plays is something more elusive: an ability to bend and stretch time, to show how the past can inhabit the present, how the myths we inherit and those we invent shape our experience of reality.’ She called it a ‘rich, funny, brilliantly layered drama about lost dreams, trampled hopes, parenting and letting go.’ and praised the way ‘Sam Mendes’ beautifully paced production surfs time, place and mood and is gloriously acted.’

The Radio Times (4★) reviewer Olivia Garrett said that, following their collaboration on The Ferryman, Butterworth and Mendes ‘have once again brought us a gorgeously textured performance that drifts across time and tone – going from nostalgic wry humour in one moment to brutal unprocessed emotion in the next.’ ‘Overall, The Hills of California is a strong and deftly handled exploration of death and bereavement with the potential to resonate with anyone,’ she summed up. Andrzej Lukowski in Time Out (4★) felt it ‘clears the bar’ set by Jerusalem: ‘Butterworth writes – and Mendes directs – with a deft, novelistic fluidity.’ However, the climax lets it down, he said, declaring that it ends in a ‘stumble’.’While his female characters are wonderful, what actually happens to them can feel cliche-bound, based on a distinctly pulpy view of the female experience,’ he explained. However, ‘The performances are uniformly tremendous.’

‘Butterworth is ingenious about the way fantasy traps and inspires,’ said Susannah Clapp in The Observer (4★). She found ‘Sam Mendes’s production is motored by fine acting’. Aliya Al-Hassan at Broadway World (4★) called it a ‘bittersweet and bitingly funny new play’. It is, she said, ‘close to greatness. It is thought-provoking, heartbreaking and multi-layered, but it could be exceptional.’

Sarah Crompton at Whats On Stage (4★) found it ‘a slow smoulder rather than a fierce blaze, shooting off thought-provoking sparks without ever fully illuminating its themes. I had the odd sense of the playwright standing outside his creation, straining every sinew to make it come to life, willing it to succeed.’ Like a number of reviewers, she brings attention to ‘Laura Donnelly’s charismatic, chiselled performance’.

For Dominic Cavendish in The Telegraph (4★) ‘It’s smart, ambitious fare, no question, the cast serve it with aplomb, and the final half-hour works like a dream. But, even so, it’s an uphill slog to get there, and we’re some distance from the hallowed triumph of Jerusalem.’ He decided it ‘needs a trim and a less languid pace’. Fiona Mountford for the i (4★) had the same thought: ‘Butterworth’s writing is resonant but proceeds at far too languid a pace’. She had a further reservation: ‘I remain unconvinced by the pivotal plot moment and the explanations, or lack thereof.’ Yet, ‘Despite the play’s flaws, the West End is infinitely the richer for its presence.’

Nick Curtis in The Standard (4★), decided (very precisely) that it was ‘nine-tenths of a superb’ play. He said: ‘this is a witty, closely observed study of family relations and of the cycle of birth and death, impeccably performed by both young and older cast members and expertly conducted by Mendes: even the singing is impressive.’ His conclusion is that The Hills of California is ‘on a par with Butterworth’s Jerusalem and The Ferryman – a trio of flawed masterpieces.’

The ‘flawed masterpiece’ theme was also to be found in Stefan Kyriazis’ review in The Express (4★): ‘a slightly flawed Butterworth performed by artists of this calibre is still worth ten of so many other shows out there.’ Part of his reservation came from his frustration with the climax: ‘the pacing is off, and the script falters frustratingly in the strangely sentimental final scene.’ On the plus side, he called it a ‘gloriously written tragicomedy’, saying ‘Nobody writes percussive dialogue like Butterworth. Hilarious grenades laced with affection or fury pepper over pathos and pain, mirth and melancholy. Colloquial rhythms ring so true you can taste the time and place.’

Clive Davis in The Times (3★) was another critic who didn’t like the ending, calling it ‘a muddled and wildly implausible final act’. Neverthless, he  thought it ‘comes tantalisingly close to sweeping us off our feet.’ ‘Laura Donnelly’s hypnotic central performance…will certainly linger in the memory,’ he said, but ‘director Sam Mendes hasn’t been able to impose enough discipline on Butterworth’s penchant for baggy, poetic speeches.’ The Guardian’s (3★) Arifa Akbar also used the ‘b’ word: ‘an uneven drama, baggy in its pacing’. Cuttingly, she concluded: ‘Rob Howell’s gorgeous set, dominated by a beautiful staircase, has heights and depths that the play itself does not reach.’

‘Director Sam Mendes’s production brings out all the gentle humour in Butterworth’s play’ said Alice Saville in The Independent (3★) but there’s a ‘lack of an intellectual underpinning (that) feels more visible in a play that lacks the pace and tautness of Butterworth’s writing at its best.’ She asks: ‘is there gold in them thar hills?’  Her answer: ‘Not this time, alas.’

Average critic rating (out of 5) 3.8★

Value rating  39 (Value rating is achieved by dividing the Average critic rating by the most common ticket price in the Stalls and Circle. In theory this means the higher the score the better value but, because of price variations, a West End show could be excellent value if it scores above 30 while an off-West End show may need to score above 60. This rating is further complicated by theatres raising or lowering the prices during the run depending on sales.)

‘The Hills of California’ can be seen at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 15 June 2024. Click here to buy direct

If you’ve seen The Hills of California, please add your review and rating below (but please keep it relevant and polite)

Garrick Theatre, London

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy by Ryan Calais Cameron started life at the small New Diorama Theatre (also the starting point for Operation Mincemeat) before transferring to the Royal Court in 2021 and then to the West End in  April 2023. In essence, six young Black men discuss their experiences of growing up, fathers, masculinity, knife crime, sex, and the challenges of society’s expectations. But there’s a great deal more to it, as the reviewers told us.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

Writing in The Sunday Times (5★), Dominic Maxwell called it ‘staggeringly good’ and praised the new cast saying he couldn’t ‘believe anyone could perform this with greater wit, tenderness, physicality and musicality’. He ends with more adulatory adjectives: ‘angry and mournful and sexy and serious and funny and freeing and a modern masterpiece’. In a word, Abbie Grundy for Broadway World (5★) summed it up as ‘fantastic.’ He had much more to say: ‘Pacey and poignant, Ryan Calais Cameron’s script artfully dissects issues of racism, mental health, sexual assault, and gang culture.’ He praised ‘each actor on stage giving an extraordinary performance’ and concluded that it is ‘a stunning piece of theatre – bitingly relevant, endlessly crucial, and deeply moving.’ Calling it ‘Seriously special’, Claire Allfree in The Telegraph (5★) talked about ‘this play’s startling ability to break down every identity trope it sets up.’ She continued: ‘this revival is supremely well directed by Calais Cameron…who beautifully controls the play’s melodic flow and hair-pin bend switches between humour and pathos, bravado and confession, break-out dance sequences and loose-limbed naturalism.’  Jane Edwardes on The Arts Desk (5★) was on her third visit to the show- ‘each time I’ve been struck by how the piece manages to be both raucous and touching at the same time.’ She was another critic who had nothing but praise for the new cast, saying they ‘can dance with all the dazzling discipline and unity of a well-trained chorus, but when they talk, they reveal that their attitudes and experiences are very different.’

Simon Thomson for CityAM (4★) said its ‘dynamic blend of dance and poetic language elevates what could otherwise have been a static play, weighed down by substantial ideas’ and gave credit to ‘the valuable contribution of movement director and choreographer Theophilus O Bailey’. ‘The new ensemble cast’ he observed, ‘is subtle and protean…they have ample opportunities to sing, resulting in moments of true beauty.’ He concluded with a clarion call: ‘Entertaining and enlightening, hopeful and humane, this production isn’t just For Black Boys.’

Reviews for the earlier West End run included this from Anya Ryan in The Guardian (5★) who called it ‘powerful and deeply moving’ written in ‘crucial, pressing poetry.’ ‘The vibrant spirit of the play is hard to resist,’ she said.

Alice Saville writing for Time Out (4★) talked about ‘a style that’s non-linear, raw, spontaneous, and massively fun to watch’ and ended ‘This is seriously powerful theatre, the kind that feels like an event, a statement, and a party all at once.’ Sarah Crompton at Whats On Stage (4★) said ‘it adds up to a remarkable evening, its themes enlivened and illuminated by laughter and affection. It is quite something.’ Natasha Tripney in The Stage (4★) praised ‘The superb movement direction by Theophilus O Bailey makes the show as physically vigorous as it is emotionally rich.’ She said: ‘the abiding feeling is one of joy.’

Average critic rating (out of 5) 4.6★

Value rating  84 (Value rating is the Average critic rating divided by the most common Stalls/Circle ticket price. In theory this means the higher the score the better value but, because of price variations, a West End show could be excellent value if it scores above 30 while an off-West End show may need to score above 60.)

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy can be seen at Garrick Theatre until 4 May 2024. Click here to buy tickets directly from the theatre

If you’ve seen For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy, you are welcome to add your review and rating below (but please keep it relevant and polite)

The American star of The Morning Show Billy Crudup makes his West End debut in a monologue written by David Cale which has already been a hit in the US. Mr Crudup plays among other characters a shy gay American who, as well as pretending to be English himself, invents an alter ego, a Cockney ‘geezer’ called Harry Clarke.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

Clive Davis in The Times (4★) described the play as ‘a shaggy dog story, and a thoroughly entertaining one.’ ‘Leigh Silverman’s direction is tightly observed yet unobtrusive’,’ he went on to describe Crudup as ‘utterly hypnotic’. ‘It’s very funny indeed,’ agreed Sarah Crompton at Whats On Stage (4★). She continued: ‘It’s a real tour de force of storytelling and performance, an old-fashioned pleasure with a modern twist.’

While feeling that the playwright could dig deeper into the psychological issues he raises,’ Sarah Hemming in the Financial Times (3★) praises ‘the slippery skill of Cale’s writing’ as well as ‘Crudup’s consummate, magnetic performance’. Chris Wiegand in The Guardian (3★) found ‘the script lacks the motor of a thriller and there is little at stake in this slight story’ but praised ‘Crudup’s vocal skill’. The Stage‘s Sam Marlowe (3★) took a similar view: ‘Leigh Silverman’s production is smartly paced, with a bravura solo performance from … Billy Crudup. But the play is effectively a series of Escher staircases leading nowhere, ingenious but inconsequential.’ Some reviewers (see below) criticised Crudup’s way of speaking English accents but for Andrzej Lukowski in Time Out (3★), the plot is such that ‘it makes sense that he sounds like an American doing an English accent’. He concluded: ‘it’s trashily entertaining and Crudup is magnetic.’ Billy Crudup gives ‘ a truly riveting performance’ agrees Claire Allfree in The Telegraph (3★) but, as to the play, ‘while, with its high-gloss blend of excess, madness and fabulous wealth, it flirts with the trappings of a thriller, there is precious little actually at stake’.

Fiona Mountford in the i (2★), advising her readers to save their money, criticised Billy Crudup: ‘a self-satisfied and showboating sort of performance’ in which his English accent ‘makes him sound like a strangulated minor royal’. She didn’t like the play much either: ‘the script, full of holes where plot logic ought to be, offers almost no sense of jeopardy.’ The Independent‘s Alice Saville (2★) agreed about the English accent: ‘his tones drifting from East End to Essex to New York like the world’s most incompetent Uber driver.’ The script disappointed her too: ‘the promised darkness never quite arrives, and nor does any kind of underlying message or shock twist.’ The Standard‘s Nick Curtis (2★) also criticised the script: Cale’s play, he said, ‘has almost no psychological depth’ but ‘Never mind the thin, shaggy dog-story of a plot: this monologue is all about Billy Crudup’s mercurial, showboating performance.’ He did agree with his fellow two star reviewers that Billy Crudup’s English accents were ‘terrible’ but, he added, ‘It doesn’t really matter.’ The theme continues over at Broadway World (2★) where Alexander Cohen criticises ‘a meandering script’ and was thankful for Billy Crudup: ‘Without him the show would crumble.’

Average critic rating (out of 5) 2.8★

Value rating 37 (Value rating is the Average critic rating divided by the most common Stalls/Circle ticket price. In theory this means the higher the score the better value but, because of price variations, a West End show could be excellent value if it scores above 30 while an off-West End show may need to score above 60. This rating is based on opening night prices- theatres may raise or lower prices during the run.)

Harry Clarke can be seen at the Ambassadors Theatre London until 11 May 2024. Buy tickets directly from the theatre here

If you’ve seen Harry Clarke, you are welcome to add your review and rating below (but please keep it relevant and polite)

Gillian Lynne Theatre

The superlatives have been brought out, dusted and polished once again for Standing At The Sky’s Edge, the musical about three generations of residents in Sheffield’s Park Hill Estate, which has now transferred to the West End. Directed by Robert Hastie, Chris Bush’s book augmented by Richard Hawley’s songs and performed by an impressive cast has captured the hearts of nearly all the critics.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

Click here to buy tickets directly.

Average rating: 4.3★

Value Rating 51  (Value rating is the Average critic rating divided by the most common Stalls/Circle ticket price on a Saturday evening. In theory, this means the higher the score the better value but, because of price variations, a West End show could be excellent value if it scores above 30 while an off-West End show may need to score above 60. This rating is based on opening night prices- theatres may raise or lower prices during the run.)

Read Paul Seven’s review 

If you’ve seen Standing at the Sky’s Edge, you are welcome to add your review and rating (but please keep it relevant and polite)