A seminal work by the celebrated children’s writer and former laureate (2013-2015) Malorie Blackman forms the basis of a powerful and disturbing new co-production between Northern Stage and Pilot Theatre.
‘Noughts & Crosses’ is based on the novel of the same name, published in 2001, which explores racism, discrimination and social inequality through the relationship between two young people from different sides of the race and class divide.
Set in a dystopian world where skin colour determines privilege and opportunity, the story is inspired by Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ although not bound by any theatrical traditions or literary constraints. Previous iterations of Blackman’s novel (the first in a series) have been created for the stage (RSC and Pilot Theatre), TV and radio, and in each instance Blackman has been extraordinarily generous about the insight that a fresh approach can bring.
This latest version commissioned a script from Sabrina Mahfouz who brings a sense of poetry onto the stage, heightening the extreme emotions at play in a world that forbids even the most innocent hand-holding between friends from different sides of the divide.
In this world, it is the black/brown-skinned ‘Crosses’ who are the ruling class, with the inferior white-skinned ‘Noughts’ who lack power and representation. They are the underdogs, kept in their place by laws of segregation with the threat of imprisonment and even the death penalty if they should transgress.
We are drawn into a weirdly familiar world with overtones of Orwell and flashbacks to the not-so-distant past of apartheid South Africa and ‘the Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. A set comprised of multiple TV screens reminds us we are already in the ‘surveillance society’- under constant watch.
The play begins and ends with the image of new life, a babe in swaddling clothes, which offers a comforting cyclical inevitability in the midst of terrible personal sacrifice. The young lovers, Sephy and Callum, are played by Brianna Douglas and Lewis Tidy, hopelessly drawn to each other, sharing secrets and stolen kisses in the margins, on the beach, under cover of darkness for fear of retribution. Callum even climbs the wall of Sephy’s home to enter her bedchamber Romeo-style through the window. The scenes between the young lovers are tender and sweet including when they ‘go all the way’. Sephy later awards her first carnal encounter nine out of ten, much to the appreciation of the largely teenage audience who filled the auditorium at Northern Stage.
The parents of each of the main protagonists reflect the complexities and challenges of family life regardless of socio-economic status. Sephy’s dad is Home Secretary and never around, hence Sephy’s mum has taken to drinking. Callum’s mother, meanwhile, is a servant employed by Sephy’s family, well-liked but poorly paid, too tired to agitate, grateful for metaphorical crumbs. However, it is at home where discontent foments to boiling point as Callum’s father and brother join the Liberation Militia, an increasingly violent paramilitary group. When Callum follows, abandoning a scholarship at the prestigious Crosses school, it seems as if the lovers will never meet again, especially as Sephy has gone away to boarding school. While Callum learns the tactics of armed resistance, Sephy studies philosophy and conflict resolution.
These vastly differing approaches to gross social injustice are already present in today’s society as successive governments around the world seek to curtail civil rights. If Reform and the Tories have their way, those rights will be threatened, as both parties have pledged to pull the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights which protects the right to protest.
Everyone has the right to protest- it is protected under Article 11.
There’s much at stake right now and it’s good to see theatre for young people that is not afraid to explore the dangers inherent in allowing racist rhetoric to go unchecked.
After a successful run at Northern Stage, ‘Noughts and Crosses’ is now on tour across the country. Tell your friends. Details here
