Heartstopper’s Joe Locke to make West End debut in CLARKSTON this Autumn
It has been announced that Joe Locke (Heartstopper, Netflix; Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Broadway) will make his West End debut in the UK premiere of Clarkston by critically acclaimed writer Samuel D. Hunter this Autumn.
Locke will star opposite Ruaridh Mollica (Sebastian; The Franchise, HBO) and Sophie Melville (Cowbois, RSC/Royal Court; Iphigenia in Splott, Lyric Hammersmith) in this emotionally intimate American play, which will be directed by Drama Desk and Obie award-winning director Jack Serio.
Clarkston will have a strictly limited run in the West End this Autumn, with further details to be announced soon.
“You have this idea in your head of the person you could be”
On a journey West to rediscover himself, Jake unexpectedly meets Chris – a kindred soul hiding in a night shift at a Costco in a rural American town. As their bond deepens, so does their sense of adventure. Maybe they could finally give life new meaning by chasing something more – like the intrepid explorers Lewis and Clark before them.
Clarkston is a modern frontier story that blazes a trail through friendship, acceptance, love and the hope of new discoveries.
Joe Locke said: “I’m thrilled to be making my West End debut in Clarkston. Samuel D. Hunter’s writing is so deeply human and honest that I immediately connected with the play when I read it. I can’t wait to bring this beautiful story to life and share it with audiences in London.”
Samuel D. Hunter said: “I couldn't be more excited to bring Clarkston to London audiences, especially with this phenomenal cast and creative team. I've always adored the UK’s theatre scene, so being able to share this play with audiences in the West End is truly a dream come true. This play draws from themes of the vast and isolated American West and the colonial past of the United States, but it's fundamentally a story about love and friendship in the midst of an unknown future, which is a pretty universal story these days.”
