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Social privilege is often invisible to those who have it. Malorie Blackman’s award-winning 2001 novel for young adults, ‘Noughts & Crosses’, tackled this by flipping the script. In this alternate history, the white ‘Noughts’ are second-class citizens to the black ‘Crosses’.
Like many of the best concepts, its power lies in its striking simplicity. Sabrina Mahfouz has taken this and cleverly updated it for our rolling media age in her stage adaptation of Blackman’s novel for the touring company Pilot Theatre, directed by Esther Richardson.
Teenager Sephy (Heather Agyepong) is a Cross. She’s the daughter of the ruthless Kamal, home secretary in the British government, and Jasmine, who drinks away the pain of her loveless marriage. Meanwhile, Sephy’s childhood friend Callum (Billy Harris) is a Nought who wants to be judged on his merits, not his race.
The ‘Romeo and Juliet’-style tragedy of Sephy and Callum’s relationship is the nub of the story. From the racist slur ‘Blankies’ to the social inequality to the violent tactics of the Liberation Militia formed by angry Noughts, ‘Noughts & Crosses’ portrays an alternate, disunited kingdom that barely feels dystopian.
Richardson’s production is packed with potent imagery. The protests when Callum attends Heathcroft School are evocative of the demonstrations against the desegregation of universities in 1960s America, transplanted to the here and now. Elsewhere, the overdose of a wealthy Cross is breathlessly reported on multiple TV screens – unlike the death of a Nought.
One of the strengths of this adaptation is Mahfouz’s ear for contemporary speech, particularly in the conversations between Sephy and Callum. As with her earlier play, ‘With a Little Bit of Luck’, she really captures the propulsive rhythm of being a teenager – the uncertainty, hope and vulnerability. Crucially, Harris and especially Agyepong feel like real, believable kids.
But this big, ambitious production also feels too compressed, as it burns through Blackman’s narrative. The cast (most of whom are playing multiple roles) have a lot of heavy lifting to do, both character and storytelling-wise, and the strain sometimes shows. As we’re whisked from one scene to the next, not every emotional beat feels earned by the shouting.
However, even if this staging of ‘Noughts & Crosses’ might benefit from being split into two plays, there’s a raw power in its high impact, imaginative look at ugly, institutional racism. And based on the reaction of the school group that saw the show in Theatre Royal Stratford East on the same night as me, Callum and Sephy’s relationship really strikes a chord with a younger audience. That feels so important right now.