★★½

“The cast, across the board, is excellent, reaffirming their ability to shape and invigorate otherwise middling writing”

‘This is My Family’ is a refrain repeated with such alarming frequency in this show, I started to hope it might actually hint at a much darker piece, which used ‘happy families’ as a veil for a seedy Mafia tale of subterfuge, criminality, and intrigue, expressed via showtunes. Alas, it did not.

It was, in fact, about an unremarkable, nuclear family from somewhere unspecified in the North of England in which 13-year-old Nicky (Nancy Allsop) wins a competition that grants her and her family any holiday of her choosing. Except her ideal family, as described in her application, is not so ideal: her brother (Luke Lambert) has become some kind of satanic incarnation of a teenager; her grandmother (Gay Soper) has burgeoning dementia and an affliction for arson; and her mother (Gemma Whelan) and father (Michael Jibson), who have been together since they were 16, are steeped in mediocrity and have grown indifferent towards each other. Tim Firth’s new play (or musical?) engages with all these topics but tends to neglect a nuanced exploration of them.

Firstly, and truly, one is reminded that good actors are wonderful artists. The cast, across the board, is excellent, reaffirming their ability to shape and invigorate otherwise middling writing. Allsop as Nicky is particularly charming, eminently watchable and sweet, and with a delightful voice. Whelan is also a standout as Nicky’s deeply frustrated mother, Yvonne.

This is my Family is nominally a musical. And yet, its status as such calls into question the framework and requirements necessary to earn its place as a musical. Because, surely, just sing-speaking constantly does not a musical make. A musical should really justify its songs: they have a reason for being: when speaking isn’t enough. Not when speaking is just not interesting enough. In this piece, dialogue and song became interchangeable and quickly indistinguishable, substituting memorable showstoppers for loosely spoken song. In all honesty, the only memorable bit of music is the aforementioned ‘this is my family’ line.

Set design (Chloe Lamford) was a standout: an initial shed-like house soon collapses, giving us a cosy interior. The switch to greener pastures in the Second Act was also a neat design choice.

In general, This is my Family is mediocre, but with first-rate actors. Whilst a play need not have a profound moralising conclusion, or solve the world’s most pressing problems, it ought to say something interesting, and with nuance. The plot is circuitous and often tedious, its twists predictable and its characters on the stock side. In its defence, it is light and fun, and the stakes are generally quite low. This may be a particularly palatable thing for theatre and audiences at the moment, given *gestures vaguely at everything* stuff. This is my Family is unimposing, gentle, and lightly comic, appealing to many a sensibility. However, its lightness came at the expense of subtlety and depth and is entirely devoid of a ‘showstopping number; a real showstopper’.

THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA at the Harold Pinter Theatre

★★★★★

“It is, overall, a sharp-witted observation of life. And of death. And the precarious hold we have of memories that lie between.”

Jez Butterworth’s highly anticipated new play, “The Hills of California” is a wondrously slow-burning affair that raises the question, among others, of explaining why people are what they are. As the layers are gradually peeled back the prize at the heart condenses, but it is the twists and turns of the lead-up that keep us in thrall. Despite running at just over three hours, Butterworth seems to have chosen every word with a mosaic artist’s care.

It is the sweltering summer of 1976, and we are in the cluttered parlour of a Blackpool guesthouse, where the cracked piano is off-key. “Through neglect and time” according to the piano tuner – the first (one of many) metaphor that applies to each character. Three sisters are reuniting during the dying moments of their mother who is lying in bed, unseen, upstairs. A fourth sister’s presence is uneasily promised, though not expected. Jill (Helena Wilson) is already on the scene. She still lives with her mother, caring for her, nervously spraying air-freshener to stop her cigarette smoke drifting up the stairs towards her. Enter feisty, witty, no-nonsense Ruby (Ophelia Lovibond) lugging her panic attacks and slapping them down on the table. Then Gloria (Leanne Best), bitter and blunt, sagging under the weight of chips on her shoulder. The dynamic is quickly established as sibling rivalries and affections simmer away, while unreliable memories stew.

We are transported back to the source of their memories. To the 1950s when the dreams were still flourishing, the guesthouse breathed with life, and their mother, Veronica (Laura Donnelly), ruled the roost with a regimental and fierce ambition for her daughters. Determined to see them become the next ‘Andrews Sisters’ she is remorseless in her control over them. Donnelly gives a star turn performance, mistakenly believing her steely command is maternal care, unaware of the damage she is causing. When a predatory theatrical agent comes dangling a carrot, we witness the harsh, defining moment that severs the family, and the future scenes make sense.

Slipping back and forth between the fifties and the seventies is the plays major strength. Each decade sheds light on the other and we see how events shape our protagonists; and how memories of those events can cloud their perceptions of reality. The performances are superb across the board. And if the characters’ memories are off pitch, their singing voices are gorgeously harmonious, especially the younger cast who play the sisters as teenagers.

“Sam Mendes brings out the best of this company, directing like a conductor responding to the shifts of mood and time.”

As the questions tentatively find their answers, the bleakness is constantly relieved by the humour that runs through the writing. Comedy that is accentuated by the fine ensemble acting. Shaun Dooley and Bryan Dick are an astute double-act as Gloria and Ruby’s husbands respectively. Dick also doubles as the resident end-of-the-pier jokesmith, Jack Larkin, forever behind on the rent but upfront with loyalty and cringe-worthy quips. There is no cameo role, even if one or two characters appear transient. Each has their place.

Sam Mendes brings out the best of this company, directing like a conductor responding to the shifts of mood and time. There may be one or two movements that could be shortened – or even cut. But like taking out a single part within a harmony, it would leave the others out of kilter. There are many undulations in “The Hills of California”. We are aware of them up close. Stand back and we see the panoramic, yet intimate, view of a family picked apart skilfully by Butterworth.

The sense of disorientation is enhanced by Rob Howell’s impressive set. Homely yet disarranged, it sweeps upwards with its imposingly gothic staircases like a giant Escher woodcut. The sinister is never far away from the everyday. And the trivial minutiae are forever rubbing shoulders with universal truths.

It is, overall, a sharp-witted observation of life. And of death. And the precarious hold we have of memories that lie between. Like the piano – that becomes a central role in the piece – those relationships can go discordantly off-key – “through neglect and time” – as the piano tuner says. Before reminding us: “a piano must be played”.

THIS IS MY FAMILY

Southwark Playhouse Elephant

★★½

“The cast, across the board, is excellent, reaffirming their ability to shape and invigorate otherwise middling writing”

THIS IS MY FAMILY

Southwark Playhouse Elephant

Reviewed on 28th May 2025

by Violet Howson

Photography by Mark Senior

Last ten shows reviewed at Southwark Playhouse venues:

THIS IS MY FAMILY

THIS IS MY FAMILY

THIS IS MY FAMILY

THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA at the Harold Pinter Theatre

★★★★★

“It is, overall, a sharp-witted observation of life. And of death. And the precarious hold we have of memories that lie between.”

“Sam Mendes brings out the best of this company, directing like a conductor responding to the shifts of mood and time.”

THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA at the Harold Pinter Theatre

Reviewed on 8th February 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Mark Douet

Top rated shows in January 2024:

THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA

THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA

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