{"id":2766,"date":"2026-04-22T07:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T06:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bfame.co.uk\/?p=2766"},"modified":"2026-04-22T07:54:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T06:54:46","slug":"the-hills-of-california-sutton-arts-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bfame.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/the-hills-of-california-sutton-arts-theatre\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hills of California – Sutton Arts Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Hills of California<\/em> by Jez Butterworth is set across two time periods\u20141976 and 1955\u2014in a guest house in Blackpool. It centres on the Webb sisters and their mother, Veronica. In 1976, the four estranged sisters reunite to say their goodbyes to their dying mother, while the scenes set in 1955 reveal the roots of their fractured relationships. The play explores themes of ambition, fame, sibling rivalry, and the darker undercurrents of control, grooming, and abuse of power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was my first encounter with the play, and I was completely drawn in from the very start. It\u2019s a deeply compelling piece, balancing a mother\u2019s fierce determination and drive with the complexities of sisterhood and the bonds that both hold and strain. Running through it all is a powerful sense of the cost of ambition and the lasting impact of choices made in pursuit of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dual timeline is handled cleverly, with the action moving between the kitchen in 1955 and the bar\/guest area in 1976. The use of folding flats to create two distinct spaces worked very effectively, allowing for quick, seamless transitions that kept the story flowing. There was a real attention to detail too\u2014the 1976 setting, complete with an authentic-looking jukebox, added a lovely sense of time and place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a play that demands a strong female cast, and Sutton Arts Theatre certainly delivered. The performances across the board were captivating, with not a single weak link on stage. Laura Hinton stood out as Gloria, the second eldest Webb sister, bringing a sharp-edged intensity layered with vulnerability and depth. It was a performance full of nuance and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All four actresses playing the Webb sisters were excellent, each clearly having invested time in understanding their character and their place within the family dynamic. Their relationships felt real, lived-in, and often painfully honest\u2014exactly what this play needs to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director Emily Armstrong also took on a dual role, playing Veronica in 1955 and Joan, the eldest sister, in 1976. Both performances were distinct and fully realised. Her Joan, in particular, had a convincing sense of someone returning from a very different life\u2014I genuinely believed she had just stepped off a plane from California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, this was a truly impressive production, driven by a talented and committed cast. It created a world that felt so real you almost wanted to step into it yourself\u2014perhaps even book a room at that \u201cluxury seaview guest house and spa\u201d just to spend a little more time with these characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviewed by – Emma T.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will apologise for the late posting of this review.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Hills of California by Jez Butterworth is set across two time periods\u20141976 and 1955\u2014in a guest house in Blackpool. It centres on the Webb sisters and their mother, Veronica. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2113,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-2027","category-sutton-arts-theatre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bfame.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bfame.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bfame.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfame.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfame.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2766"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bfame.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2767,"href":"https:\/\/bfame.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2766\/revisions\/2767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfame.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bfame.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfame.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfame.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}