{"id":252157,"date":"2025-07-10T00:57:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T00:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/252157\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T00:57:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T00:57:14","slug":"heartstopper-star-joe-locke-sets-london-west-end-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/252157\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Heartstopper’ Star Joe Locke Sets London West End Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tJoe Locke<\/a>, the Emmy-nominated star of Netflix\u2019s \u201cHeartstopper<\/a>\u201d and Marvel\u2019s \u201cAgatha All Along,\u201d is set to make his London West End debut this fall in the U.K. premiere of \u201cClarkston<\/a>,\u201d a play by Samuel D. Hunter<\/a>, the writer behind the Oscar-winning \u201cThe Whale.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe production, presented by Oliver Roth and LD Entertainment, will star Locke opposite Ruaridh Mollica (\u201cSebastian,\u201d \u201cThe Franchise\u201d) and Sophie Melville (\u201cThe Way,\u201d \u201cIphigenia in Splott\u201d). Jack Serio, the Drama Desk and Obie award-winning director who helmed the acclaimed Loft production of \u201cUncle Vanya,\u201d will direct.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cClarkston\u201d follows Jake, a man on a journey west to rediscover himself, who unexpectedly meets Chris, a kindred soul working the night shift at a Costco in rural America. As their friendship deepens, they embark on an adventure inspired by explorers Lewis and Clark, searching for new meaning in their lives.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m thrilled to be making my West End debut in \u2018Clarkston,’\u201d Locke said. \u201cSamuel D. Hunter\u2019s writing is so deeply human and honest that I immediately connected with the play when I read it. I can\u2019t wait to bring this beautiful story to life and share it with audiences in London.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHunter added: \u201cI couldn\u2019t be more excited to bring \u2018Clarkston\u2019 to London audiences, especially with this phenomenal cast and creative team. I\u2019ve always adored the U.K.\u2019s theatre scene, so being able to share this play with audiences in the West End is truly a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe playwright described \u201cClarkston\u201d as drawing \u201cfrom themes of the vast and isolated American West and the colonial past of the United States, but it\u2019s fundamentally a story about love and friendship in the midst of an unknown future, which is a pretty universal story these days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLocke shot to international fame with his breakthrough performance as Charlie Spring in \u201cHeartstopper,\u201d earning an Emmy nomination for outstanding lead performance at the children\u2019s and family Emmy Awards in 2022. He recently starred in Disney+\/Marvel\u2019s \u201cAgatha All Along\u201d alongside Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza, earning a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination. On stage, he won the best professional debut award at the WhatsOnStage Awards in 2023 for \u201cThe Trials\u201d at the Donmar Warehouse and made his Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated \u201cSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMollica was shortlisted for the BIFA 2024 breakthrough performance for his role in \u201cSebastian,\u201d which premiered at Sundance. His TV credits include HBO\u2019s \u201cThe Franchise\u201d and Netflix\u2019s \u201cWitness Number 3\u201d and \u201cRed Rose.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMelville\u2019s breakthrough came with \u201cIphigenia in Splott\u201d at the Lyric Hammersmith, earning her The Stage Award for acting excellence. Recent credits include James Graham\u2019s \u201cThe Way\u201d for BBC One and \u201cCowbois\u201d at the RSC\/Royal Court.<\/p>\n

\n\tHunter\u2019s previous works include \u201cThe Whale,\u201d which earned him Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards, and \u201cA Case for the Existence of God,\u201d which won the New York Drama Critics\u2019 Circle Award for best play. The film adaptation of \u201cThe Whale,\u201d starring Brendan Fraser and directed by Darren Aronofsky, won two Oscars including best actor and was nominated for a BAFTA for best adapted screenplay.<\/p>\n

\n\tProducer Oliver Roth, founder of OHenry Productions and a Tony and Olivier Award winner, has previously produced West End hits including \u201cSunset Blvd.\u201d and \u201cThe Inheritance,\u201d as well as Broadway productions like \u201cMerrily We Roll Along\u201d and \u201cParade.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLD Entertainment, a five-time Tony Award-winning studio, has produced over 30 acclaimed stage productions including \u201cDear Evan Hansen,\u201d \u201cHadestown,\u201d and \u201cCompany,\u201d alongside over 40 films including the Academy Award-nominated \u201cJudy\u201d and \u201cJackie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe production will have a strictly limited run this fall in London\u2019s West End.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Locke, the Emmy-nominated star of Netflix\u2019s \u201cHeartstopper\u201d and Marvel\u2019s \u201cAgatha All Along,\u201d is set to make his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252158,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,90206,393,4884,20436,97157,257,97158,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-252157","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-clarkston","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-heartstopper","13":"tag-joe-locke","14":"tag-london","15":"tag-samuel-d-hunter","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114826224812490049","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}