february1–14, 2021 | newyork 63which they would make art or watch VHS
tapes of old Jane Austen adaptations. She
knew her daughter loved to sing and act,
and she helped her apply to the National
Youth Theatre of Wales.
In a way, Clark’s years of trying and fail-
ing to playact the part of an attentive stu-
dent had been a theatrical education. “You
are often having to pretend to be someone
else,” she says. “Lots of the characters I’ve
ended up playing have kind of put on a face
of respectability.” She was accepted into
the three-year program at Drama Centre
London in 2010 and signed with an agent
while she was there. In 2014, she landed a
small role in the prep-school period piece
The Falling, starring Maisie Williams and
Pugh; the year after, she caught the atten-
tion of British critics with her stage perfor-
mance in Gary Owen’s Violence and Son.
As she has gained the respect of her
peers, that feeling of inevitable failure
has stuck. “ADHD feeds into impostor
syndrome because you’re alwaysfluking
doing well and then crashing and burn-
ing,” Clark says. “There’s always a feeling
that you’re tricking everyone like you
occasionally tricked your teachers.” In
her mid-20s, she was certain that, after
a big break, things would feel different.
She knows better now. “It’s sosurreal
when the things you wouldn’t allow
yourself to think of start happening,” she
says of fame. “But also you remain the
same anxious person.”
This strange year, spent marooned in
Auckland,hasgivenClarka bitofquiet in
herrestlessmind.Shespeakshaltingly
ofallthingsLordoftheRings,afraidto
le t slipany unauthorizednews.(She’ll
reportedlyplay a youngGaladriel,the
royalelfportrayedbyCateBlanchettin
thePeterJacksonfilms.)Theproduction
canfeellike a schooltrip;thecast is
treatedlike “preciouscargo,”theirdays
oftenpassed“doingactivitiestomake us
super-fitandreadyforeverything.”At
times,she’s ina “stateofthesublime”—
untilsheremembersshe’s 11,000miles
fromhome.“Wehavethiscast whoare
veryhomesickinparadise,”shesays,“and
that’s a very particularkindoffeeling.”
InSeptember, ClarkattendedaSaint
Maudpremiereat Auckland’s Hollywood
Avondale.Thefilm’sreceptionwasglow-
ing,butbeingina roomfullofstrangers
remindedherhowmuchshemissedher
family,whoarequicktotake thepissout
ofhernewfoundfame.Hersistermakesa
pointofsendingheralltheworst tweets
aboutSaintMaud.“I havea reallystrong
groupofpeoplewholovemebuthaveno
respectforme,” Clarksays,laughing.“And
I thinkthat’skindofperfect.” ■When COV IDBecomes the Stor yHow Superstore leaned
into a pandemic it couldn’t ignore.By Kathryn VanArendonkThispastmarch,thepeoplewhomakeSuperstore
werestaringdowna seriesofproblems.Somewere
similartothosefacingmany AmericanTVshowslast
spring.“Bythetimethisairs,arewereadytolaugh?”
SuperstorestarBenFeldmanrecalledwondering.“Or
iscovidsomethingweexpecttosee?”Buttheshowhada unique
setofchallenges,too.Whilehangoutsitcomsandcomediesabout
precociouschildrendonotdemandtheintrusionofa globalhealth
crisis,it’s muchhardertoignorecovidona seriesaboutfrontline
workers.“Goingescapist just didn’t make sense,”Superstorewriter
OwenEllicksontoldme.“Ourcharacterswouldbepeopleina very
interesting,toughspot.”
Thepast few monthshavegivennetwork-TVviewersthechance
towitnessa huge, inescapablenarrativeexperiment.Everyseriesset
incontemporarylifehadtomake a choiceabouthowtodealwith
thepandemic.Grey’sAnatomy,a medicalshow, wentallin,building
thewholeseasonaroundthecrisis.Somejusticeprocedurals,such
asBullandLaw&Order:SVU,includedindifferentmaskingand
covidprotocolsbutotherwiseclungtofamiliarnarrativestructures.
Severalsitcoms,includingCBS’sTheUnicornandBobHearts
Abishola,chosetoignorecovidentirely.
Superstore,anNBCsitcomsince 20 15,wasuncannilywellsuited
PHOTOGRAPH: TINA THORPE/NBC tothechallenge.Theworkplacecomedyfollowsa groupofpeople
Nico Santos, Ben Feldman, Kaliko Kauahi, and panicked
shoppers in an early scene from this season..