Noughts and Crosses - The Lowry

For nearly 40 years I have been reviewing live theatre and I can’t remember a play so affecting as Noughts and Crosses.

Set in a futuristic dystopian society ruled by people of African origin - the crosses in the title - the end of this at times harrowing and deeply disturbing tale does offer a glimmer of hope for a better and more harmonious future.

But, as always, I have no intention of spoiling things.

The society is ruled with an iron fist by the Crosses, which sees the lighter skinned Noughts treated as second class citizens.

Imagine then, the ensuing furore on both sides of the social divide when a friendship between two teenagers takes a more romantic turn.

Watching Brianna Douglas, who plays Sephy, and Lewis Tidy as Callum “grow up” before us is impressively authentic and you’re sure to find yourself aching for a happy ending even though there are echoes of Shakespeare’s timeless teen love story Romeo and Juliet in this remarkable story by Malorie Blackman.

To complicate things even further for them, Sephy, a Cross, also happens to be the daughter of deputy Prime Minister Kamal, played with just the right amount of contemptuousness by Chris Jack.

A small army of teenagers sat transfixed in the Lowry’s more intimate Quays Theatre, which is sure to make the audience feel as trapped as the characters do in a world from your deepest, darkest nightmares.

While there echoes of Romeo and Juliet, Noughts and Crosses brings us a flavour of what life was like in South Africa’s appalling apartheid regime.

But unlike those who lived under apartheid, us theatregoers can leave The Lowry safe in the knowledge we’ll only ever face those injustices on the stage or the screen.

As a newcomer to this story it made me determined to read the novel that inspired it, adapted here by Sabrina Mahfouz.

Challenging, thought provoking theatre - at its very best.

Until April 25, Tickets are available from 0343 208 6000 or online at www.thelowry.com.

Star rating - *****