Clarkston

Clarkston follows the story of two young men, Chris and Jack, after they meet at the night shift at a Costco in Clarkston, Washington, USA. The friendship is an unlikely one, with Jake trying to make the most of his short life after a fatal diagnosis and Chris facing a possible dead end life despite dreaming of more. There are themes of family, sexuality, and addiction, ultimately landing on a message of choosing your own fate.

I enjoyed seeing this show, and was lucky enough to see Kai Davies who understudies both main roles and did a fantastic job as Chris, along with Joe Locke as Jake and Sophie Melville as Trisha, Chris’s mother struggling with a meth addiction. 

What I liked

The performances were great from all of the cast, and it was very exciting to see Joe Locke perform live as I’m a fan of him from Heartstopper and Agatha All Along. We didn’t realise until after we left the theatre that Davies was the understudy as he felt very secure in his performance. Melville’s performance was also very strong, and in her final scene she truly made my stomach drop as I realised what had happened, even before it was said out loud. 

What wasn’t my favourite

I’m slightly confused as to why there was audience seating on stage. Typically I’ve seen the audience on stage as an immersive factor, like seating in a night club or bleachers by a sports field, but with 2 lengths of the stage with a few rows of seating I was struggling to see its effect. I’m sure an upclose viewing of the very stripped back production would have been great, but otherwise it seemed a bit odd. 

Overall

I admittedly don’t have a huge amount to say about Clarkston, but I am nonetheless glad I saw it. The themes are really interesting but the lens they are told through are very American, so as an Australian in the UK I didn’t quite connect, but the performances were stellar enough that I would happily watch it again.