Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses canon of books for young adults have become something of a modern classic and were first adapted for the stage in a highly successful version for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
This second adaptation by Sabrina Mahfouz for Pilot Theatre gained similar critical acclaim when it first appeared in 2019, with its text ending up on the GCSE drama syllabus. Now midway through an 18 venue national tour, the show is packing teenage audiences into theatres across the country.
With its 11 strong cast on Simon Kenny’s stark, graphic set, there is a lot going on in the narrative, which is perhaps both the show’s greatest strength and weakness. In condensing the complex and emotive subject matter of Blackman’s books, Mahfouz has created a play that has rather more sprawl than focus. The imagined 21st century setting in which England lives under strict racial segregation, challenging the actual racism in our society head-on, throws up so many conflicts that it is clearly difficult to decide which parts of the original source material to include and which to set aside.
The resulting complex, multi-layered storyline needs pin-sharp focus and high energy to get its message through the fourth wall into the auditorium. There are two excellent performances here from Effie Ansah and James Arden as the central pair of characters Sephy and Callum, but their delivery is unfortunately not fully matched by the rest of the ensemble.
Much of the projection is muted and there is almost a sense of weariness from some of the cast. Whether this is the result of mid-tour slump or the switch of venue, or whether it is inherent in Esther Richardson’s direction of this revival cast is unclear. Sadly this is not all that is unclear, and the apparent lack of focus onstage is met with restlessness in the audience, especially throughout the weighty 90 minute first act. Energy levels certainly perk up after the interval, almost as if there has been a pep talk from the team coach in the dressing room.
This is powerful and important material with a big message, and the adaptation clearly means business. What it needs now is a little fine-tuning and a good recharge of its batteries so that the performance can pack as weighty a punch as the text.
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| James Arden as Callum and Effie Ansah as Sephy - image ©Robert Day |
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| The company of Noughts & Crosses - image © Robert Day |
Star rating: 3 stars
This review was originally written for publication by Good News Liverpool
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