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Clarkston
'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 working the same 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 American explorers who came before them. Together, they grapple with questions about sexuality, family and life's dead ends.
Samuel D. Hunter's emotionally intimate play Clarkston is a modern frontier story that blazes a trail through friendship, acceptance, love and the hope of new discoveries.
It was first performed at Dallas Theater Center, Texas, in 2015, and won a New Play Award from the Edgerton Foundation. It received its British premiere at Trafalgar Theatre, London, in 2025, directed by Jack Serio and starring Joe Locke, Ruaridh Mollica and Sophie Melville.
On a journey West to rediscover himself, Jake unexpectedly meets Chris – a kindred soul working the same 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 American explorers who came before them. Together, they grapple with questions about sexuality, family and life's dead ends.
Samuel D. Hunter's emotionally intimate play Clarkston is a modern frontier story that blazes a trail through friendship, acceptance, love and the hope of new discoveries.
It was first performed at Dallas Theater Center, Texas, in 2015, and won a New Play Award from the Edgerton Foundation. It received its British premiere at Trafalgar Theatre, London, in 2025, directed by Jack Serio and starring Joe Locke, Ruaridh Mollica and Sophie Melville.
- GenresPlays
110 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 25, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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September 29, 2025man I love plays
October 11, 2025
This was beautiful, messy, uncomfortable, humorous and gripping to read. Such a well written script! Having seen the actors, props, costumes, stage and promo trailer/photos online - it played out so vividly in my minds eye.
November 13, 2025
I saw this show on the West End and gave it a 3.5-4 stars. I think its a pretty great play, made by three excellent performances and good direction.
On the page, I like it but I’m not crazy about it. There’s a very specific vibe a lot of American Off-Broadway Contemporary plays have that makes them sound a lot like this;
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNdKo9Vt2/
I actually kinda fuck with thus vibe usually but I think reading the play highlighted a few issues to me namingly the scripts tendancy to get a little self-serious in a way that I’m not sure lands. In between some great naturalistic dialogue and interesting messy characters, the script suddenly goes very lyrical and profound in a way its not quite built to sustain.
That said I think its pretty good and lends itself to some great performances. Your milage just may very depending on how American you’re willing to get with it.
I do wonder if in the age of Sterephonic, John Proctor is the Villain and Oh, Mary! (all of which are travelling from New York to London with greater fanfair) we might start to see this style of play go the way of the British Kitchen Sink drama.
On the page, I like it but I’m not crazy about it. There’s a very specific vibe a lot of American Off-Broadway Contemporary plays have that makes them sound a lot like this;
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNdKo9Vt2/
I actually kinda fuck with thus vibe usually but I think reading the play highlighted a few issues to me namingly the scripts tendancy to get a little self-serious in a way that I’m not sure lands. In between some great naturalistic dialogue and interesting messy characters, the script suddenly goes very lyrical and profound in a way its not quite built to sustain.
That said I think its pretty good and lends itself to some great performances. Your milage just may very depending on how American you’re willing to get with it.
I do wonder if in the age of Sterephonic, John Proctor is the Villain and Oh, Mary! (all of which are travelling from New York to London with greater fanfair) we might start to see this style of play go the way of the British Kitchen Sink drama.
December 10, 2025
4.75/5.00
Very biased by seeing it live back in October but this is such a solid one-act play. Reflective and gut-wrenching in equal measure, and I teared up reading the lines that also got to me in the theatre. It's a hard ask to convey themes of mortality and existentialism in such a short amount of time, but Hunter does it so beautifully.
Loved seeing this live, love it just as much as a standalone text. I'd love to see it become massive one day.
Very biased by seeing it live back in October but this is such a solid one-act play. Reflective and gut-wrenching in equal measure, and I teared up reading the lines that also got to me in the theatre. It's a hard ask to convey themes of mortality and existentialism in such a short amount of time, but Hunter does it so beautifully.
Loved seeing this live, love it just as much as a standalone text. I'd love to see it become massive one day.
September 26, 2025
reading plays again!
a truly heartbreaking read, wow ❤️🩹
a truly heartbreaking read, wow ❤️🩹
September 29, 2025
beautiful script!!!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews