17–22 November 2025
Trafalgar Theatre, West End – London
Samuel D. Hunter’s delicate, fragile, and profoundly humane texts have long been one of the quietest yet most powerful currents in American theatre. After reaching a wide audience with the Oscar-winning The Whale, the playwright now arrives in London—making its UK premiere—with Clarkston.
Leading the cast are Joe Locke, known worldwide from Netflix’s Heartstopper; Ruaridh Mollica, on the rise with The Franchise; and Sophie Melville, celebrated for her ability to carry deep emotional tones on stage. Directing is Jack Serio, winner of Obie and Drama Desk awards, who recently earned acclaim for his adaptation of Uncle Vanya.
When this cast and text come together, Trafalgar Theatre hosts one of the season’s most eagerly anticipated productions.
Heading west in America: The desire to rebuild oneself
On the surface Clarkston appears to be the chance meeting of two young men, but it is in fact a finely woven text about loneliness, fracture, hopelessness, and the possibility of reconnection.
The story begins when Jake, travelling west to start his life over, meets Chris, who works the night shift at a rural Costco. The bond they form slowly turns into a metaphor echoing the Lewis and Clark expedition:
one side an unexplored inner world,
the other the chance of rediscovering lost purpose.
One of Hunter’s greatest strengths is his ability to convey big themes through small moments. Clarkston continues this tradition—quiet, intense, fragile.
Fragile masculinity and modern loneliness
A recurring motif in Hunter’s writing takes centre stage here:
the unraveling, directionless state of American masculinity crushed under economic and emotional pressures.
Jake’s longing for renewal and Chris’s inner entrapment bring the silent crises of contemporary America to the stage.
Drug use, inability to hold on to life, aimlessness, family pressure…
These themes could easily pull the play into darkness, yet Hunter’s language never slips into melodrama and refuses to turn the characters into symbols. On the contrary, Clarkston leaves the audience with the feeling:
These people exist somewhere in all of our lives.
Joe Locke’s West End debut
The young actor’s West End debut is one of the production’s most talked-about elements. Known from Heartstopper, Locke here embodies a far more inward-facing, deeply cracked character.
An acting style that draws from sincerity rather than loud outbursts, carefully avoiding melodrama.
His onstage chemistry with Ruaridh Mollica carries the play’s core emotional axis. Sophie Melville delivers a performance that adds crucial weight at the text’s turning points.
Jack Serio’s direction: Opening the space of silence
Serio’s direction is in perfect harmony with Hunter’s introspective writing. By using minimal set design to gently scale down the expanse of Trafalgar Theatre, he creates an almost cinematic atmosphere that invites the audience into the characters’ private world.
Serio’s greatest achievement:
He never forces the text’s tempo.
He opens up the silences.
He lets us hear the characters breathe.
A modern road story on the edge of the American Dream
Clarkston is a “road” play—
but without cars, with roads that remain invisible.
The destination is not a geographical point but an emotional coordinate.
While portraying the fragility of the American middle class, the invisible weight of economic pressure, and the growing impact of social isolation, Hunter succeeds in keeping the text both political and deeply personal.
For that reason, Clarkston offers something far beyond the usual star-studded West End spectacles:
quiet, honest, and achingly familiar.
Apartman No:26 Note
An introspective drama set to mark the season at Trafalgar Theatre
Clarkston is a play that advances through small truths rather than grand gestures.
Joe Locke’s West End debut, a powerful cast, Serio’s subtle direction, and Hunter’s fragile portrait of humanity combine to create one of the season’s most affecting American plays.
If you’re in London looking for a human-centred, understated yet deeply resonant theatre experience, Clarkston is one of the unmissable productions of the season.
