Noughts & Crosses
Rating: ★★★★
Venue: Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London
Cast: Corinna Brown, Noah Valentine, Alec Boaden, Amanda Bright, Halle Brown, Michael Cusick, Elle Davies, Eddie Elliott, Emma Jane Goodwin, Kate Kordel, Jessica Layde, Wela Mbusi, Habib Nasib Nader, Yolanda Ovide, Helena Pipe, Richard Riddell, Ben Skym and Chanel Waddock

By a secluded beach Callum and Sephy meet in secret; life-long friends living on separate sides of a divided world. When Callum, from a Nought family, is accepted to Sephy’s prestigious Cross school, will it bring them closer, or will the hate and fear that surrounds them drive them apart?

Theatre is subjective, that much is true. But I think as an audience member for Noughts & Crosses you'd be hard pressed to leave and not feel impacted in some way. It's poignant, thought-provoking and everything you could wish from a production; fast-paced, emotive and a piece that'll stay in your mind long after you've left the theatre.

With hints of Romeo & Juliet, comes Noughts & Crosses; a production based on the 2001 hit novel from Malorie Blackman of the same name. It follows the stories of teenage star-crossed lovers, Sephy and Callum. In this world, racial segregation has been reversed, and Noughts (white people) are widely controlled by Crosses (Black people). While there's been a few adaptations of this bestselling book, none have been as powerful as this particular production from Tinuke Craig and Dominic Cooke.

What could be misconceived as overacting comes from two heightened performances of the star-crossed lovers, Sephy and Callum. You'll remember what it's like to feel in love as a teenager and how all consuming it feels - and that's without the addition of a political minefield! Corinna Brown (Sephy) and Noah Valentine (Callum) have the awkward teenage chemistry nailed to perfection and their dynamics onstage together are fantastic. 

While they're the heart of the story, this is so much more than just a story about teenage love. What starts as a seemingly YA light piece, quickly takes a dramatic turn into darkness. The pathetic fallacy of the sky darkening outside to match the play's tone is astounding and makes Regent's Park the perfect atmosphere for this production.

The standout performance for me comes from Katie Kordel who offers one of the most gut-wrenching performances I've ever seen on a stage. It's difficult not to feel every emotion she does, as she conveys them so incredibly well. I was left choked up by her performance several times throughout the evening.

There aren't many moments where this piece feels comfortable or not charged in some way, but that's what makes it so important and is much needed when the world is in despair for scarily similar reasons right now. 

Colin Richmond has achieved something exceptional with this set. Black and white communities are strikingly separate and the Crosses are often seen on the higher levels throughout, whereas the Noughts stay on the ground floor, making the separation between the classes even more blaringly obvious. The set feels almost stripped back and apocalyptic which makes the story feel even more real and raw.

In a piece that focuses so heavily on violence, fight and movement direction is imperative to get right and both RC-Annie Ltd and Ingrid Mackinnon have created scenes that feel so believable that it's easy to forget you're watching live theatre, which is a sign of true skill.

The only issues the production faced were sound difficulties. There were many times throughout where the mics weren't turned up loud enough, or simply came in a few seconds late. Which after a few weeks, I would expect to have been ironed out. It's simply that which stopped this being a five star production, because at times it felt quite jarring and disconnected you from the intensity of the story.

Without doubt, Noughts & Crosses is one of most impactful plays I've seen this year and was a reminder why this story is so heavily ingrained in the school's curriculum still. Pair the dynamic plot with a truly unforgettable set of performances from the entire cast, it's another hit for Regent's Park Open Air Theatre's summer season. 

You can book tickets to Noughts & Crosses, here.

**photo credit: Manuel Harlan**