Noughts and Crosses at Northern Stage Review
Written by Stacy for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
12+ (The show contains depictions of; racism and its effects on physical and mental health, alcoholism, bullying, capital punishment, violence (including domestic violence). The show contains mild sexual content and some strong language, alongside references to sexual violence and suicide.)
I felt the atmosphere shift the moment I took my seat at Northern Stage. There was a nervous electricity in the room, the kind that only comes when a story people truly care about is about to unfold. This production of Noughts and Crosses by Northern Stage and Pilot Theatre does not ease you in gently. It grips you from the outset and refuses to let go.
Malorie Blackman’s novel has long been a rite of passage for young readers. Its impact is undeniable. Generations have grown up with Sephy and Callum’s story etched into their understanding of race, privilege and power. Bringing that weight to a modern stage adaptation could feel daunting, but here, Sabrina Mahfouz's writing feels urgent. The world Blackman created still mirrors our own with a distinct element of uncomfortable clarity. The reversal of racial hierarchy continues to expose prejudice in a way that feels both sharp, yet distinctly recognisable. By holding up a reversed image, she reveals the original, and to watch it now, in a time when political discourse feels increasingly divided, gives this narrative a renewed sense of necessity.
Right at the heart of this turmoil are Arianna Douglas as Sephy and Lewis Tidy as Callum, our star-crossed lovers navigating a world determined to keep them apart. Douglas captures Sephy’s defiance and vulnerability with pure control. There is steel in her voice when she challenges injustice, yet an almost childlike hope when she clings to the possibility of love conquering all. Tidy’s Callum is layered with frustration and pride. He carries the weight of expectation and humiliation in his posture alone. Together they create a chemistry that feels genuine and fragile, and their scenes are charged not just with romance but with the constant awareness of danger.
Directed by Esther Richardson, the narrative moves with a rapid cinematic pace, yet this never sacrifices emotional depth. The staging leans fully into physicality and rhythm, allowing the story to pulse forward with segues between scenes that are choreographed to rhythmic perfection. Classroom tensions, family confrontations and moments of political extremism are built with clarity and impact. The ensemble work is particularly dynamic as Melody Adeniran, Daniel Copeland, Finton Hayeck, Chris Jack, Emma Keele and Elexi Walker shift seamlessly between roles, embodying parents, teachers, rebels and authority figures with distinct energy every time. Their multi-roling adds to the sense of a society in upheaval and disarray, where entire systems feel larger than the sum of any one individual.
It was vividly evident that the book’s themes translated across to live performance. On the page, Blackman forces readers to confront injustice through imagination. On stage, there is no buffer to hide behind. The anger and shock lands in real time. The heartbreak echoes in the silence between breaths. Moments that I remembered reading years ago felt newly raw because they were embodied in front of me. Mahfouz's adaptation honours the source material while trusting the immediacy of theatre to do its own work.
But what moved me more than anything was not on stage. It was around me. I was sat in an auditorium made up of mainly young adults and their reaction to the play was exceptionally moving and honest. This is a story written for them and about them. Every politically charged moment received an audible wave of response. Sharp intakes of breath. Murmurs of disbelief. Every romantically heightened point was rewarded with warmth and outward positivity. They laughed when they needed to and sat in stunned silence when confronted with cruelty. Their engagement felt instinctive rather than polite.
By the final moments, the energy in the auditorium was almost tangible. When the cast took their bows, those same young people were on their feet without hesitation. It did not feel orchestrated. It felt earned. For me, that is the truest measure of success. This production does not just retell a much loved novel. It hands it back to the generation it was written for and lets them claim it in real time. And as the applause thundered around me, one thought cut through everything else. When young voices rise together like that, you know the story has done exactly what it was meant to do.
Noughts and Crosses is on a limited UK tour until May 2026
★★★★★
