Heartstopper and Agatha All Along star Joe Locke makes his West End debut in the UK premiere of Clarkston by Samuel D. Hunter.
Jake (Joe Locke) arrives in a small town and starts working the night shift at Costco, stacking shelves. Partnered up with Chris (Ruaridh Mollica), the two youngsters form a friendship. Jake divulges he has Huntington’s disease, a degenerative neurological condition with an execution date. But before the disease takes his life, he wants to see the ocean and this is just a stopping off point along the way.
The unlikely pair come from different worlds and their friendship is volatile, fuelled by Chris’s mother Trish’s manipulating and cruel relationship with her son. They boys explore their sexuality, suicidal tendencies and troubled childhoods, culminating in a charming story of two youngsters, coming of age.
The three actors are all amazing. Ruaridh Mollica leaves his heart on the stage as Chris, hard on the outside but an emotional wreck on the inside and Joe Locke (whilst having the least meaty role in the play) does a fine job with the script. Sophie Melville may come in to the play a third of the way through but she certainly makes up for the loss of stage time, delivering a powerful portrayal of the mother who you can’t decide whether to like or hate.
The play is a bit all over the place, feeling like it was put together in a rush. The way it immediately jumps from the two boys meeting on their night shift to having sex down by the river (something which comes out of no where and there is no build up to – no flirtation or suggestion that the pair might be heading that way). Then there is Sophie Melville’s character of mother, Trish, who explodes on to the scene too late in the Play. The show should open with Chris leaving home because of his mothers addiction issues, introducing this part of the story from the outset and framing what is set to come.
The story meanders along for ninety minutes telling a story of friendship, acceptance, love and the hope of new discoveries. But whilst the idea is nice, it feels padded out with long readings from books and no great substance. Nice enough but in a city full of Plays right now, there are better ones out there to spend your money on.
★★★
Clarkston is playing at London’s Trafalgar Theatre until 22 November 2025.
More about the cast of Clarkston at Trafalgar Theatre
Joe Locke shot to fame with his breakthrough performance in Netflix’s chart topping and Emmy Award-nominated LGBTQ+ teen drama series Heartstopper for which he was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance at the Children’s and Family Emmy Awards in 2022. He went on to star in all three seasons of the popular show and is currently in production for the new Heartstopper feature film where he will reprise his role and, alongside co-star Kit Connor, serve as an executive producer. Last year, Joe had a leading role in Disney+/Marvel’s WandaVision spinoff series Agatha All Along alongside Kathryn Hahn, Aubrey Plaza and Patti LuPone. The series was released to critical acclaim, becoming one of Marvel Television’s most successful shows with Joe receiving a nomination for a Film Independent Spirit Award for his performance. On stage, he won the Best Professional Debut Award at the WhatsOnStage Awards in 2023 for his performance in The Trials (Donmar Warehouse) and made his Broadway debut last year in the Tony Award-nominated Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street performing alongside Aaron Tveit and Sutton Foster.
Ruaridh Mollica is a Screen International Rising Star Scotland 2024 and was shortlisted for the BIFA 2024 Breakthrough Performance. His film credits include indie feature Sebastian (which had its worldwide premiere at Sundance Festival and the LFF) and BAFTA Scotland and BIFA award winning short film Too Rough (which premiered at the SXSW film festival). On television he has had regular roles in HBO’s The Franchise and Netflix dramas Witness Number 3 and Red Rose. He will also feature in the second series of A Thousand Blows for Disney.
Sophie Melville’s recent credits include James Graham series The Way (directed by Michael Sheen for BBC One) and the acclaimed play Cowbois (RSC/Royal Court). Her breakthrough stage performance was Iphigenia in Splott (Lyric Hammersmith) for which she won The Stage Award for Acting Excellence and was nominated for Evening Standard and Drama Desk Awards. Other theatre includes Apex Predator (Hampstead Theatre), Girl in the Machine (Young Vic), The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare’s Globe), Mum (Soho Theatre), Sorter (Swansea Grand), Wolfie (Theatre503), The Divide (Old Vic) and No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution (Hampstead Theatre). Sophie’s television credits also include The Pact, The Missing and Call the Midwife (all BBC).
What theatre shows are playing in London right now?
What days do London theatre shows have matinee performances?
What London theatre shows have upcoming accessible performances?
