★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Reviewer - Hollie

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review.

Caution: This show includes strong language, flashing lights, violence and themes of alcohol dependency and murder.

With new life there is new hope. Or is there? White versus Black. Daggers versus Blankers. Noughts versus Crosses.

In this adaptation of former Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman’s classic love story, Sephy and Callum are on opposing sides of a segregated 21st century Britain. The side that is in control is not the side you would expect to be leading the country, as the story explores an alternative history set in a dystopian world full of rivalry, restrictions and radicalisation.

Sephy and Callum have been friends since childhood with Callum’s mum working as Sephy’s family’s housekeeper. Time moves on as Sephy and Callum meet on her family’s private beach each year to spend time together as friends. The beach symbolises the place that they can really be themselves with each other and their relationship changes through the years as they grow older.

The monologues performed by Effie Ansah and James Arden as the protagonist’s Sephy and Callum throughout the performance were incredibly powerful and allowed the audience to sympathise with both characters. The perspectives and points of view of the different characters are effectively told by the cast throughout the performance and many of the actors play multiple roles in the show. The use of a minimal cast and a clever multi-dimensional set allows for the audience to concentrate on the story being told and the themes being explored throughout the performance.

On the one hand, one family has its own private beach, a mansion and designer clothes whilst the opposing side is only allowed milk on Fridays and they are banned from having their own mobile phones. Due to the strict rules imposed by the Crosses, violence and war become a reality very quickly and members of each family are torn apart by secrets and lies.

As a member of the audience it was hard not to draw comparisons between Blackman’s novel and the harsh reality of 2023. As stated in the show, the world around you is not just orange juice and sketchbooks! Many drama students attended the show’s first performance of the week at Leicester’s Curve Theatre in the newly renovated tiered Studio Theatre which allowed the audience to feel almost on top of the stage and part of the action themselves.

The use of two predominant colours, red and black are used throughout the performance by Simon Kenny in his effective set design, and along with the use of subtle sound effects and technology the scenery provides a perfect backdrop for a tale of sorrow and despair.

Noughts and Crosses continues showing at Leicester’s Curve until Saturday 1st April 2023. The show has been touring the U.K. for the last eight months and Leicester is the end of the tour; however, I am looking forward to seeing what Pilot Theatre produces next.

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