Joe Locke to Make West End Debut in Clarkston

Oliver Roth and LD Entertainment are delighted to announce that Joe Locke (Emmy Award-nominated Heartstopper; Marvel’s Agatha All Along; Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Broadway) will make his West End debut starring opposite Ruaridh Mollica (BIFA nominated for Sebastian; The Franchise, HBO) with Sophie Melville (The Way, BBC; Cowbois, RSC/Royal Court; Evening Standard Award nominated for Iphigenia in Splott, Lyric Hammersmith) in the UK premiere of Clarkston by critically acclaimed writer Samuel D. Hunter (best known for Oscar-winning and BAFTA nominated film The Whale). This emotionally intimate American play will be directed by Drama Desk and Obie award-winning director Jack Serio (who won great acclaim for his production of Uncle Vanya performed in a New York loft and recently directed the world premiere of Samuel D. Hunter’s Grangeville at Signature Theatre).

Clarkston will have a strictly limited run in the West End this Autumn. Further details to be announced soon. Sign up to be the first to hear when tickets go on sale: www.ClarkstonPlay.co.uk

“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.”

Producers Oliver Roth & LD Entertainment said:
“We’re so looking forward to introducing London audiences to Samuel D. Hunter’s voice, which has shaped New York’s downtown theatre scene for over 15 years, and to Jack Serio’s brilliant direction, which has quickly made waves as he emerges as one of the city’s most exciting new theatre makers.”

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.

Samuel D. Hunter’s full-length plays include The Whale (Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, GLAAD Media Award, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Play), A Case for the Existence of God (New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play, Hull-Warriner Award), Little Bear Ridge Road (Jeff Award, Best New Work), Grangeville (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nomination for Best Play), A Bright New Boise (Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), Greater Clements (Drama Desk nomination for Best Play, Outer Critics Circle Honoree), The Few, A Great Wilderness, Rest, Pocatello, The Healing, and The Harvest, among others. The film version of The Whale, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Brendan Fraser, was nominated for the 2023 BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and received two Oscars, including Best Actor. Other awards include a 2014 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship and an honorary doctorate from the University of Idaho.

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).

Jack Serio is a Drama Desk and Obie award-winning New York theatre director. His recent credits include the world premieres of Bubba Weiler’s Well, I’ll Let You Go (Irondale), Samuel D. Hunter’s Grangeville (Signature Theatre), and Ken Urban’s Danger and Opportunity (East Village Basement). He directed a critically acclaimed production of Uncle Vanya staged in a Flatiron loft which garnered three Drama Desk nominations including Best Revival. Other credits include the U.S. premiere of Ruby Thomas’s The Animal Kingdom (The Connelly Theater Upstairs), Joey Merlo’s On Set with Theda Bara (The Brick), and the U.S. premiere of Rita Kalenejais’s This Beautiful Future (The Cherry Lane Theater).

The producing team will also include Craig Balsam, Patrick Catullo, and Daniel Neale.

Main Image: Ruaridh Mollica by YellowBellyPhoto, Joe Locke by Ruth Crafer, Sophie Melville by The Other Richard. Artwork by Feast

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