THEATRE REVIEW: Noughts And Crosses - The Lowry Theatre, Salford.

‘Noughts And Crosses’ is an adaptation from the book of the same name by Malorie Blackman, adapted by Sabrina Mahfouz. The premise is that of an alternative, dystopian Britain, where the ruling class is the dark-skinned “Crosses” and the “Noughts” are a colourless underclass, no longer slaves to the Crosses but denied many privileges and oppressed by the dark-skinned government of the time. Against an increasingly violent backdrop, two teenagers attempt to continue their secret childhood friendship, falling in love despite the dangers. Sephy’s dad is a corrupt Home Secretary, keen to manipulate anyone to maintain the status quo of Cross supremacy. Callum’s dad is a part of the Liberation Militia, a militant group of Nought activists who perform acts of terrorism against Crosses.

Staged on a deceptively simple set and performed by an ensemble of 10 actors, this production is marketed heavily at school groups. The accompanying materials claim that the play aims to have a social and political impact on the young people that see it, expanding their understanding of what it is like to grow up in a minority. The reversing of racial equality to oppress white people is an excellent vehicle for those aims. However, as an audience member who hasn’t read the books or seen the TV mini-series, the social justice element was lost to the strength of Sephy and Callum’s love story. According to my companion who is a fan of the series, there were opportunities to explore the social and political content which were missed because of the focus on the star-crossed lovers.

This is not to say that the production wasn’t challenging - it contained scenes of violence, terrorism, capital punishment, alcohol misuse and blatant racial hatred. The performers handled all these elements incredibly well. There was intermittent use of intricate physical theatre (directed by Corey Campbell) to create moments of transition, chaos or tension, and the production felt smooth and slick. Adding to the ensemble style - the cast were integrated into the scene changes and – apart from Effie Ansah as Sephy and James Arden as Callum - all performers played multiple roles.

The cast were strong, characters were clearly defined (no easy task when condensing a full-length novel into 140 minutes) and the relationships were authentic. With strong performances across the board, the eight supporting actors provided a rich and detailed backdrop for Ansah and Arden. Ansah played an exuberant, naively confident Sephy – this worked well in Act 1, but it would have been good to see her alter as life became more embroiled. Arden was a delight as Callum - strong from the off, he set his character up to be the stoic rock, determined to improve the Noughts’ lot using only legitimate means.  A sense of doom hung over him from the first scene.

This was a very enjoyable production, there is something different about sitting in an audience that is well over 80% young adults! The teenagers were restless toward the end of a slightly drawn-out act one but were visibly (and in some cases, audibly) moved by the twists and turns of act two. The group behind us were drama GCSE students, who were thoroughly impressed with the production itself – intrigued by the perceived simplicity of the set, which was made up of two walls that folded, card-like across the back wall. Lined with canvas and detailed by LED lighting these were used for projections of varying sizes; opened and closed as doors, cupboards or windows; and were rolled away to make space for stairways. The students described the acting as “awesome” but even they were unsure about the purpose of the story line – more focused on the fated love story than on the atrocities of a violent, segregated society.

Ultimately, is this production worth seeing? Definitely – a gritty, modern book-adaptation grounded in an alternative reality. Take a teenager – they’ll love it!

Reviewer - Justine Sutcliffe
on - 19.1.23