On Thursday 17th April, Chigwell School’s English department took a group of A-level English students to the Harold Pinter Theatre located near Leicester Square, London, to see a rather newly released play – ‘The Hills of California’, written by Jez Butterworth. ‘The Hills of California tells a story featuring four daughters gather upon a dying mother, in their Blackpool home, a run-down guest house, among the heatwaves of 1970s to say a final goodbye.

‘The Hills of California’ is the theatre text in which this group of English students will be writing on as part of their A-level coursework. Therefore, the department has decided that it would be a golden opportunity for students to review this play staged.

“If I am honest, it has been incredibly helpful to me” commented Juliana, a Year 12 English student. “By seeing it on stage, I can visualize scene very easily, and I would imagine that this will come in handy when I start my coursework in the coming weeks.”

“Not only had it been a pleasant experience, but it was also interesting to find out the director’s decisions that differ from my imagination more or less.” Manraj, a Year 12 student remarked.

The trip allows the students to see the play live, enable an understanding to certain directorial decisions and allows students to better comprehend the characters which will hopefully support the students in their academic achievements along the year.