Noughts And Crosses – Mayflower Studios – Southampton until 9th May 2026

Review: Pat Hayward 6th May 2026

Noughts And Crosses which makes its Southampton debut this week at Mayflower Studios is a play that is aimed at introducing younger people to the world of theatre drama – with no holds barred. It started out as a novel, first published in 2001, written by Malorie Blackman, a best-selling children and young adult author who was appointed as Children’s Laureate from 2013 to 2015. Her novel was an immediate success and was included in the BBC Big Read list of Top 100 novels and was the only work of a black writer to feature. In 2007, Dominic Cooke adapted the novel for the stage for the RSC and then in 2016, Sabrina Mahfouz began working on a new adaptation of the novel, commissioned by the Pilot Theatre (an international touring company based in York) in a co-production with four regional theatres: Derby Theatre, Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, Mercury Theatre in Colchester and York Theatre Royal. Their aim was to create high quality theatre for younger audiences. It first toured the UK in 2019 and last year was part of the Regents Park Open Air Theatre summer season. This year Pilot Theatre have brought the play back on tour in conjunction with Northern Stage and reflects the importance of the work in the school curriculum.

The story is set in a dystopian society where there are two groups of people, the haves and the have-nots or as they are referred to in this play, the Crosses and the Noughts. It could be politics; left and right, relgion; islam and christianity, or race; black and white. It doesn’t matter, the scene is set, there are extreme views on everything. But in this segregated society where the white Noughts are suppressed by the ruling black Crosses the story focuses on the story of the forbidden love between a Cross named Sephy and a Nought named Callum. The story takes 2 hours and 20 minutes to tell and the drama moved apace, too fast to build any credible characters as they catapult from one crisis to another. Brianna Douglas plays Sephy and Lewis Tidy is Callum and together they give the production that one essential thread of belief that life really can be better. However, both are a little too old to be convincing in their roles. The other six cast members take on numerous roles and every one of them heightens the threat and the hatred that this world has created.

Unbelievably impressive is Simon Kenny’s set design. At first glance, it’s just panels, it looks minimalist, but that is deceiving. As the set opens up, bits fold out, there are hidden cupboards, windows, and staircases. The panels are sometimes translucent, sometimes projection screens, and simple yet effective lighting is interwoven, adding significant dimensions to the activities on the stage. One stand-out moment is when a bomb explodes in a shopping mall, the combination of Ben Cowen’s lighting, Adam McCready’s sound, Si Cole’s video and Xolani Crabtree’s choreography was tremendously powerful – and terrifying.

There have been comparisons between this play and to Shakespeare, in particular his Romeo & Juliet, but other than two star-crossed lovers there is little to substantiate such a claim. Much of the dialogue lacks true feeling especially when delivered with such a high level of anger and the rapid switch from scene to scene doesn’t give sufficient opportunity to build emotions in any of the characters. While the story squares up to suicide, sex and capital punishment, each moment is sped through to get to the next. Though Esther Richardson’s direction is punchy and clear, the emotional impact frequently feels pushed aside in order to move on to the next scene. The excessive use of direct address repeatedly tells us everything we need to know, rather than letting us work anything out for ourselves, hurrying us along to the play’s predictable end. A guttural cry pierces the night sky. Loss follows loss, and only anger remains. More than two decades on, Blackman’s story of forbidden love and constant injustice still holds a cracked mirror up to its audience.

If you have a teenager who can handle mature themes, this is an ideal introduction to real theatre. If you’re into dystopian themes and looking for something more than social media extremes, this might be for you. If you like Shakespeare and classical theatre then I would suggest that you may be disappointed, underwhelmed or just wonder why there are so many young people in the audience. Certainly a production that will prompt more than just a few thoughts.