NOUGHTS AND CROSSES - ARTS THEATRE
Is the game of noughts and crosses exciting? Rarely. So a play borrowing the tic-tac-toe title might not seem a promising source of drama. Yet this stage adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s much-loved novel delivers far more than the name suggests.
Written over twenty years ago for a young adult audience, the story imagines a starkly divided dystopia. Society is split between the privileged “Crosses” and the dispossessed “Noughts,” their lives running in parallel but never truly intersecting. The conceit is simple but striking: here, power lies with black citizens, while white people occupy an impoverished underclass. It’s a world drawn in bold strokes rather than subtle shades. Crosses enjoy wealth and entitlement; Noughts are denied opportunity, education, and even small social freedoms—coffee in a mall, or a glass of orange juice, are luxuries beyond reach.
At the heart of this divided society are two ill-fated, X-crossed lovers: Sephy, from a powerful political family, and Callum, a Nought who dares to cross the invisible boundary between their worlds. Brianna Douglas gives Sephy a compelling mix of innocence and defiance, while Lewis Tidy’s Callum is earnest, ambitious and quietly determined. Their chemistry anchors the production, giving emotional weight to a story that might otherwise feel schematic.
Around them, an eight-strong ensemble shifts rapidly between roles—family members, judges, militants—creating a broad social canvas. The first half can feel somewhat didactic, its tone often raised and its themes delivered with a blunt insistence. Characters declaim rather than converse, and the early scenes occasionally resemble a primer on racism and class division rather than fully realised drama.
But soon the production finds its stride. A major development in the second half injects urgency and genuine tension, transforming the narrative from worthy allegory into gripping theatre. From that point on, the emotional stakes rise sharply, and the story takes on a far more compelling momentum.
Visually, the production impresses throughout. The set, lighting and sound design work in seamless harmony, creating a vivid and often striking stage picture. Combined with fluid, almost balletic movement from the cast, the result is both dynamic and immersive—a theatrical experience that engages the senses as much as the intellect.
For all its occasional heavy-handedness, Noughts & Crosses ultimately succeeds where it matters most. We come to care deeply about Sephy and Callum, and the final moments land with real force. It may begin with a simple premise, but it ends with a devastating emotional punch which gets all the Xs and Os in a row.
photos: Von Fox Promotions
