Noughts and Crosses - Review

If you love a story of forbidden love, then you’re in luck. Noughts and Crosses is on at The Alexandra Theatre Birmingham.

This is an evocative story that deals with difficult issues that are still prevalent within society today. But these issues are cleverly explored with a twist that forces you to think differently. Noughts & Crosses is a euphemism for blacks and whites. The Noughts are the whites, and the Crosses are the blacks. In the world of the play, the Crosses are the dominant ethnic group wielding complete power over a subjugated white population. It is a fascinating play, which forces us to re-evaluate our ideologies and preconceptions of what race and power mean.

The story, much like Romeo and Juliet, follows 2 individuals destined for one another but forced to be apart. Sephy is a Cross and Callum is a Nought. Between Noughts and Crosses, there are racial and social divides. A segregated society teeters on a volatile knife edge.

These themes and more are explored in the Pilot Theatre's interpretation of award-winning writer Malorie Blackman’s novel, adapted by Sabrina Mahfouz. Noughts and Crosses is a captivating drama of love, revolution and what it means to grow up in a divided world

The show started full of drama and suspense, but this quickly dissipated, and I was left feeling rather deflated by what could have been an incredible, thought-provoking show.

For me, the show lacked a clear narrative, and the storytelling and direction of the plot was quite chaotic. As a result, it felt like many mini-scenes were rushed and only skirted around the sensitive issues that are central to the plot. However, this may also have been because many of the cast were playing multiple roles. Whilst this is admirable and necessary for smaller productions where there are limitations it became a bit confusing as their different characters were hard to identify. In addition to this, I was puzzled by the fact the cast wasn’t using microphones as I was quite close to the front but struggled to hear all the dialogue over the musical interludes, so I wonder how the audience higher up and further back heard. I noticed that for some of the cast this was their first time in a leading role, and I think that at moments this showed. However, the cast did handle the sensitive nature of these topics well and delivered them with delicacy.

I must say that the use of the set and stage was rather good, and they utilised their set well with it doubling up as storage. It added to the tense atmosphere as the off-red backdrop foreshadowed what was to come. Noughts and Crosses is a key set text in the education system. The story deals with challenging themes that prompt a lot of discussions. I would implore schools and the wider community to come and see the show to educate people on these issues to continue to drive the conversation on racial injustice. Noughts and Crosses is on at The Alexandra Theatre Birmingham until Saturday 19th November 2022 tickets are available at the following link https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/noughts-and-crosses/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham/