I was eagerly awaiting to watch Noughts and Crosses performed by Young Rep Seniors but horror struck me as I realized there were train strikes on the same day. I quickly checked my options and unfortunately it did mean I had to leave the show during the interval.
I knew roughly the outline of the play before I arrived, racial tensions with a bit of Romeo and Juliet thrown in. This was a play as part of the Order and Chaos festival being performed at Birmingham Rep Theatre.
Initially at the beginning, the character Callum’s voice projected away from the audience so it made it harder to hear, however after that 1st scene, it was fine, with the actor’s voice loud enough and projected more towards the audience.
The tempo in the play increased every minute and it was getting more thrilling to watch. The scenery and lighting were fantastic.
There were some notable performances in the show, unfortunately the actors playing each character was not listed however notable character mentions go to Jude, Sephy, Meggie, Lynette, Kamal, Dionne , the narrators for Sephy and Callum and also Callum.
The show was polished, and you could tell a lot of work had gone in to bring it to the level it was. The actors’ movements and acting was fantastic.
I particularly liked Jude, an unassuming character at the beginning but then the acting skills really showed when involved in an argument with Meggie and the rest of his family
The actor who played Meggie made her character believable, caring, assertive- the natural mother instinct was in abundance.
The portrayal of Sephy’s character was brilliant and the actress who played should be very proud of their performance.
Dionne was immensely believable as a character and the actor who delivered her line’s did it flawlessly.
The story of the play focuses on racial tensions and had key takeaway parts we should consider in our own lives. The issues being raised are still sadly in our society today.
The audience was a good size and most people were concentrating on the performance, although I did have someone behind me rustling some bags. I was very dismayed that I couldn’t see the 2nd half because of the train strikes. However the 1st half built it’s tempo up and the character’s came alive much more. There was not much sign of nervousness and the actors had rehearsed well.
I really enjoyed the narrators/ or thoughts inside the head of Sephy and Callum, they each delivered an outstanding performance.
This was a captioned performance and it was nice to see a Theatre being accessible to all. It’s a shame the festival has to come to an end, but will I be back next year? Of Course!
Congratulations to all the company for a memorable performance, it was a well put together play with fantastic acting and brought societal issues to the forefront of people’s minds.