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Laura Donnelly, Leanne Best, Ophelia Lovibond and Helena Wilson lead the cast in The Hills of California

Friday 17 November 2023

Laura Donnelly (The Ferryman, The Nevers, Outlander), Leanne Best (Sweat, Ripper Street,

Line of Duty), Ophelia Lovibond (Minx, W1A, The Effect) and Helena Wilson (Vogue World,

Jack Absolute Flies Again, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern) lead the cast as the Webb family in

Jez Butterworth’s new play, The Hills of California.


They are joined by Bryan Dick, Shaun Dooley, Corey Johnson, Richard Lumsden, Natasha

Magigi, Nancy Allsop, Sophia Ally, Alfie Jackson, Lara McDonnell, Lucy Moran and Nicola

Turner.


Following their multi-award-winning triumph, The Ferryman, Jez Butterworth, writer

of Jerusalem, and Sam Mendes, director of The Lehman Trilogy, return to the West End to

bring you The Hills of California. The latest play from the acclaimed playwright, a generational drama that rifles through decades of one family’s past, will run at Harold Pinter Theatre, for a limited season, from 27 January to 15 June 2024.


“This house. It’s called ‘Sea View’. It’s just I’ve looked out of every window, and you can’t.

You can’t see the sea.”


Blackpool, 1976. The driest summer in 200 years. The beaches are packed. The hotels are

heaving. In the sweltering backstreets, far from the choc ices and donkey rides, the Webb

Sisters are returning to their mother’s run-down guest house, as she lies dying upstairs.


The creative team for The Hills of California is Writer: Jez Butterworth, Director: Sam

Mendes, Designer: Rob Howell, Lighting Designer: Natasha Chivers, Composer, Sound

Designer and Arranger: Nick Powell, Choreographer: Ellen Kane, Musical Supervisor and

Arranger: Candida Caldicot, Casting Director: Amy Ball, Young Person’s Casting Director:

Verity Naughton and Associate Director: Zoé Ford Burnett.


Sonia Friedman Productions and Neal Street deepen their commitment to making theatre

more accessible, offering 1,000 tickets at £10 to NHS and key workers, those who are in

receipt of government benefits, educational groups, community organisations, and those

who currently access food banks. They are supported by Ambassador Theatre Group’s

Creative Learning team. Organisations can register their interest via ATG’s West End

Creative Learning Producer: Conor Hunt on conorhunt@theambassadors.com

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