Theatre
Review
Review: Clarkston
Samuel D. Hunter’s new play at the Trafalgar Theatre is a touching look at new adulthood
Heartstopper lead Joe Locke’s West End debut has been a buzzy one. Fans of the Netflix series wandering into the Trafalgar Theatre perhaps aren’t entirely prepared for what they’re getting, however. A new adult drama, sure. A love story, in kind. But mostly, Samuel D. Hunter’s Clarkston is a look at where you go when you’re running out of time, and how you resurrect a pioneering spirit when all you come across are dead ends.
Locke stars as Jake, a young man with Huntington’s disease who has an interest in the Lewis and Clark story (although thanks to a degree in “post-colonial gender studies”, he’s proud to be able to point out all the ways in which the explorers violated modern day values). Playing opposite him is the excellent Ruaridh Mollica as Chris, closeted and sensitive, and not entirely open to the disruption that Jake well-meaningly threatens. The two meet stacking shelves at Costco and what starts as a failed hook-up becomes a complicated but ultimately sustaining friendship. Completing the cast is Sophie Melville, who sows discord as Chris’ addict mother. The three push each other to increasing levels of discomfort and hurt before things come to a painful climax.
It’s not a misery-fest though, and there is plenty of levity to be found even as the characters grapple with life’s darker themes. The restrained tenderness between Jake and Chris is charming to watch; the adolescent fumbling of their attempted meet-up behind Costco, only for it all to end in embarrassment, and their shared childish love of stories. Locke and Mollica are an endearing pair and bring a convincing chemistry to Jake and Chris, along with a raw, open quality that has the watcher wincing for them. Hunter’s script re-humanifies themes and plot-points often employed as cliches, and moments of awkwardness and slight absurdity bring colour to what otherwise might be too stark.
Milla Clarke’s storeroom set is sparse and minimal, and director Jack Sergio brings the audience into it, staging the play in the round with lines of chairs onstage at the Trafalgar Theatre. Stacy Derosier’s lighting design is clinical and precise, shifting us sharply from one scene to the next like the click of a slate. It all serves to remind us that there’s nothing inherently special about the troubles and small joys of the two lads onstage – but also that not every grand adventure has to be grand from an outside perspective.
Clarkston is playing at the Trafalgar Theatre until 22 November – find tickets here
