Review by Stephen Stokoe
Noughts and Crosses : Northern Stage | 4th March 2026
It was a pleasure to be back at Northern Stage for one of the most contentious and talked about theatre productions in recent years. This production from Pilot Theatre in association with Northern Stage suggests a modern-day telling of Shakespeare’s immortal tragedy of star crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet but Malorie Blackman’s story adapted by Sabrina Mahfouz for the stage is far more than a love story.
This gripping tale touches upon many subjects and delves deeply into the heart of segregation, racial and social division, substance abuse, extramarital relations, extreme terrorism, domestic abuse, and teenage pregnancy. It also mirrors our world suggesting a parallel existence where black has the supremacy and the whites are the subjugated secondary class in wealth, power, and education.
Born into a wealthy family, Persephone (Sephy) lives a privileged life with her mother Jasmine, her sister Minerva (Mini) and her exulted father, Kamal, the current Home Secretary of the ruling political party. Sephy’s (Brianna Douglas) youth is presented as carefree involving cavorting innocently on beaches with best friend, Callum (Lewis Tidy) the son of their housekeeper – a year her senior. They have grown up together and form a seemingly unbreakable bond.
Callum’s mother, Meggie (Emma Keele) however, loses her job at the Hadley’s home which puts a strain on their friendship after she refuses to account for Sephy’s mother’s whereabouts. This is a story about two distinct families at war – The Hadley’s – a powerful and wealthy family and the McGregors – a working class family very much on the breadline and the blossoming love affair between one head-strong daughter from one family and an idealistic and well-meaning son from another. It is at this point, where the parallels to Romeo and Juliet end.
The Noughts and Crosses of the title allude to the skin colour of the people in this world. The Crosses are black and the noughts white and never the twain shall meet. The Home Secretary Kamal Hadley, harbours some dark feelings about the worth of the noughts and, while outwardly appearing to favour integration by throwing hard earned breadcrumbs to a select few of them is secretly plotting against their advancement with policy changes and infiltrating those who may gather to rise against the establishment. This inadvertently fuels the rise of a movement to topple the status quo.
The staging of this production is very effective and thoughtfully designed by Simon Kelly. The use of red is apparent throughout the production and some very clever lighting devices are incorporated into the action to give added tension, a sense of claustrophobia and in two instances, at particularly dramatic moments the stage seems to double in size suggesting that the only release from the tyrrany and hopelessness of existence is one that no-one should be forced to contemplate.
Interwoven into the script is footage (Video Designer – Si Cole and Original Video design – Ian William Galloway) of the action through video clips, television news reports and some very clever movement sequences and staging from director Esther Richardson to drive the story forward.
The performances from all the actors is particularly strong with most of the cast doubling up very effectively to bring all manner of characters and giving the impression of a much bigger cast than that of the eight listed in the programme.
If it can be likened to the Shakespeare play of the two young lovers, and of course it can, then perhaps you will not be expecting a Disney-esque love fest of chirping birds and a happy ending. In this regard, you will not be disappointed. It is a hard watch, with dark themes, hard hitting social commentary, strong language both actual and implied and it does not hold back on questioning societal norms and inequalities. The radicalisation of Callum’s Dad, Ryan (Daniel Copeland) by his disaffected brother, Jude (Fintan Hayeck) is particularly sensitively portrayed and not at all glamorised. This adds to the efficacy of the story-telling in a period of time when such things are happening to our young people with unchallenged or tacit acceptance.
The story has protagonists and antagonists to drive the narrative but I would suggest that the author, director, adaptation lead, and creatives have all given the audience licence to make up their own minds as to who the real villains are following a viewing of this impactful and visually stunning production.
There is a whole library of resources, interactive workshops, and educational offers to accompany this dramatic production to further investigate and deep dive into some of the weightier topics of the piece. Further details are available in the accompanying literature and on Pilot Theatre’s Website.
This is an absorbing piece of theatre with some incredible story-telling, and one which needed to be revisted and brought into the consciousness of the society of 2026 and beyond.