Review: NOUGHTS AND CROSSES, Belgrade Theatre Coventry - Tour

Photo credit: Robert Day

There have been countless reinventions of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, but Malorie Blackman’s 2001 Young Adult novel Noughts & Crosses must be one of the most loved and most thought-provoking. It tells the story of Sephy and Callum, two friends growing up in a segregated world where Black people - Crosses - have all the power and privilege, and the ‘colourless’ white people - Noughts - are subjugated. When the first Noughts are allowed to attend a Cross school, a series of violent events are set into motion which force Sephy and Callum to confront their feelings for each other and the society they live in. 

Regularly named on lists of the best books for teenagers, Noughts & Crosses has previously been dramatised for television and radio, and this Pilot Theatre production is the second stage adaptation. While the source material is excellent, Sabrina Mahfouz’s script and Esther Richardson’s direction don’t quite exploit the story’s full potential. The play feels a little sluggish at times, especially in the overlong first act, and the big moments often fall short of making the impact they should. We don’t get to understand the characters deeply enough, and James Arden and Effie Ansah’s leads take a long time to establish chemistry. 

Things do pick up in the shorter, snappier second act, when Ansah seems more at ease playing an older, wiser version of Sephy, and the connection between Sephy and Callum feels more real. Still, the play never quite achieves the required sense of urgency. 

The technical aspects are slightly hit and miss too. Arun Ghosh and Xana’s sound design succeeds in its doom-laden score, but the dialogue is occasionally muffled and fails to reach the back of the theatre. Simon Kenny’s minimalist set of mostly static walls made from red blocks achieves a hemmed-in, oppressive feel, but also contributes to the slower pacing. The video screens running news reports are a clever touch, highlighting the manipulation of the public by the press, but again the low volume leaves audience members in the last few rows straining to hear.

While the production doesn’t succeed in all areas, it still raises a lot of pressing issues and it’s no surprise that it has made its way onto many school syllabuses. The play doesn’t shy away from dealing with political unrest, terrorism, racial tension, disparity of wealth and opportunity, and the corruption of those in power. It asks questions of the audience, and doesn’t give easy answers. The events of Noughts & Crosses may be set in an unnamed place at an unspecified time, but there are striking similarities to our current world, and we need plays like this that aren’t afraid to hold a mirror up to society.

Towards the end of the play, Callum talks of his dream: a world where everyone is equal and has the same opportunities. “Sounds like a fairytale,” one of the Cross prison guards tells him. Let’s hope that one day it isn’t.

*** Three stars

Reviewed by: Laura Lott

Noughts & Crosses plays at Belgrade Theatre Coventry until 28 January, and continues to tour until 1 April. For more information, please click here.