We round up the reviews for Samuel D Hunter’s 2015 play, running in the West End until the 22nd November.
The Guardian: *** “Loneliness pervades Jack Serio’s production as each character loses what they’ve been working so hard to hold on to. But there are glimmers of hope in their nudged jokes, second attempts and the way they sit with each other at their worst moments, unsure what to say but knowing there is purpose in being there, to see what no one else has been allowed to see before.”
WhatsOnStage: *** “The individual scenes in director Jack Serio’s production are played entirely naturalistically, but the overall style of the staging is expressionistic, with an ominous thrumming underscore and a stunning lighting design by Stacey Derosier that sometimes has the actors wading through an orange-tinged gloom before washing the entire playing area in a lurid acid yellow. The tension between presentation and material is interesting, but having audience members on stage is a needless distraction calculated more to fill the space than to make any dramatic point.”
London Theatre 1: **** “A good mix of tenderness and humour makes the ninety-five-minute running time feel considerably less, and as I have often said, it is better to leave the audience wanting more than to outlast one’s welcome. I suppose there will be some readers who will want to know how good Joe Locke was. I’ve never even seen Heartstopper, but his performance in Clarkston is nuanced and heartfelt, with an emotional complexity and maturity that betrays his tender years. A fascinating production, as broad as it is deep.”
City Am: ***** “A special note must go to Sophie Melville, who is absolutely formidable as Chris’s mother Trisha. Ferocious and overbearing in her love toward her son but in the clutches of drug addiction, like everyone on stage, she is so realistically sketched: trying her best but beset by unimaginable hardship.”
The Standard: ** “Anyway it’s sweet, inoffensive, and the best efforts of Mollica in particular almost result in a bit of real tenderness, especially when he rests his head on Jake’s lap. The rest is pure American cheese, as natural as those bright orange balls stacked in their thousands on the Costco shelves.”
Radio Times: **** “Joe Locke’s West End debut is a soulful look into the lives of two starry-eyed young men which wends its way between utterly charming and horribly sobering like the real-life river it’s set on.”
London Theatre.co.uk: *** “Locke shows himself to be an accomplished stage performer, capturing a certain romantic ennui in Jake that makes him a likeable protagonist. His attraction to Chris seems at least part motivated by his recognition of a fellow broken soul, and there’s something both symbolic and deeply sad about these two bright young men being stuck in such a dead-end situation.”
Everything Theatre: *** “Clarkston is a diamond in the rough concept with a solid storyline. Yet with the mother and son relationship so well explored in this play the other elements suffer as a consequence and feel lacklustre by comparison. It is, however, undeniable that this play communicates a sense of hope and the importance of embracing the unknown.”
The Stage: *** “Joe Locke of Heartstopper stars in Samuel D Hunter’s undernourished chamber piece.”
Time Out: “Director Jack Serio stages his production like a series of snapshots, with minimal music and the freeze frame effect of Stacy Derosier’s lighting. The actors often face each other from opposing corners, as if stuck to the ground beneath their feet. There’s something industrially perfunctory to Milla Clarke’s set, with its towering racks of boxed goods. It’s a world lacking much beyond functionality. The final scene suggests some hope for Jake and Chris, but the route has been pretty thankless. “
West End Wilma: *** “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.”
London Theatre Reviews: *** “Clarkston had the potential to be a thoughtful look at love, class, and survival in contemporary America. Instead, it feels underwhelming — a play that drifts along without ever fully taking off.”
All That Dazzles: **** “Hunter’s writing is exquisite – full of intrigue and intensity while never forgetting the very essence of humanity.”
The Telegraph: **** ” The Netflix star is funny and touching in this soulful staging of Samuel D Hunter’s Clarkston.”
Theatre Weekly: “Clarkston is a play that speaks softly but leaves a lasting echo. It’s a meditation on mortality, friendship and the quiet courage it takes to keep going. This production is a triumph for the West End and the kind of play that changes the way you view the world.”
Broadway World: *** “There are flashes of brilliance in Clarkston, but on the whole the underlying message feels somewhat elusive. It’s far from an unentertaining piece of theatre, but neither is it life-changing.”
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