Review: CLARKSTON, starring Joe Locke, Trafalgar Theatre

First performed at Dallas Theater Center in 2015, Samuel D. Hunter’s three-hander play Clarkston makes its British première in a production at Trafalgar Theatre, which is directed by Jack Serio. Set in the Washington state town of Clarkston, the lives of Connecticut native Jake and nearby Lewistonian Chris are intertwined as they find themselves working the nightshift together at Costco; both have secrets that they are trying to hide from - but does the answer lie in stacking shelves?

In some ways this feels like a slightly curious play to transfer across the Pond. Jake has partly made this cross-country journey to follow in the footsteps of American West pioneers Lewis and Clark (after whom Lewiston and Clarkston were named), but these figures will be unfamiliar to the vast majority of audiences over here; this isn’t absolutely vital, of course, but it does make it difficult to connect with some of the material.

As the story progresses, and Jake reads passages from their journal aloud to Chris, if you are not well-versed in the deeds of Clark and Lewis will be enlightened; you should also see Jake’s behaviour inadvertently mirroring theirs. Where the pioneers disrupted the lives of the Native Americans in the area, Jake forms a connection with Chris only to get him into trouble at work - something which is of far greater consequence to Chris than Jake.

The more universal theme explored in Clarkston is the idea of chasing a dream; for Chris it’s grad school, whereas Jake’s is theoretically more straightforward: he wants to see the Pacific Ocean. The play is mostly of a serious bent, with some gentle humour thrown in along the way - perhaps thanks to this, it does feel slightly longer than its slated 95-minute running time. It tiptoes around the edge of the profound, but never quite gets there.

Although stage seating is always fun to experience, I’m not quite sure why it is required for this production. In fact, it comes across as a bit of a gimmick and actually detracts from Milla Clarke’s realistic Costco warehouse set design; sitting in the auditorium and looking up to see a bank of faces staring back at you just feels odd in this scenario.

However, these are probably the best value seats in the house. A large chunk are priced at £100 (including fees) or more, which always feels scandalous for an interval-less play like this - regardless of the show’s quality. Sitting in the most expensive seats also isn’t a guarantee that you’ll see every single moment clearly, thanks to the amount of time the characters are directed to sit on the floor or hang around the extremities of the stage.

Possibly the most impressive aspect of the production is Stacey Derosier’s lighting design. There is a regular rig that provides typical warehouse-style lighting, but for scenes which take place away from The Warehouse there are various other onstage lights which are used to help suggest the atmosphere or environment - generally taking in shades of red, orange or yellow. During the final scene, the stage is flooded with white light from the back of the auditorium, which is initially unsettling as an audience member, but serves the location of that moment very well.

Sophie Melville’s cameo as Chris’ troubled mum Trisha is very impactful, as she seeks to properly reconcile with her son. Joe Locke feels best suited to the lighter moments, as he has excellent comic timing but struggles to find much depth of feeling in Jake - aside from a couple of moments in the script that are meant to catch the audience unawares, he is rather cold. It is Ruaridh Mollica who shines brightest, imbuing Chris with raw emotion underneath his initially brittle exterior; he also has a knack for comedy, helping him to create a well-rounded character. Mollica is undoubtedly a rising star, and one to watch as his career progresses.

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.

Read our interview with Sophie Melville here

Clarkston is at the Trafalgar Theatre until 22 November

Buy Tickets to Clarkston