Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses on stage

A DYNAMIC and powerful production from Pilot Theatre brings Malorie Blackman’s reinterpretation of the Romeo and Juliet story to the stage when Noughts & Crosses plays at Oxford Playhouse from Tuesday (March 7) to Saturday (March 11).

Sephy and Callum sit together on a beach. They are in love. But Sephy is a Cross and Callum is a Nought and their love is forbidden. Between Noughts and Crosses there are racial and social divides. A segregated society teeters on a volatile knife edge.

As violence breaks out, Sephy and Callum draw closer, but this is a romance that will lead them into terrible danger.

This gripping Romeo and Juliet story, by acclaimed writer Malorie Blackman and adapted by Sabrina Mahfouz, is a captivating drama of love, revolution and what it means to grow up in a divided world.

Noughts & Crosses is directed by Esther Richardson, with an ensemble cast: Effie Ansah as Sephy, James Arden as Callum, Amie Buhari, Tom Coleman, Daniel Copeland, Abiola Efunshile, Ebony Feare, Emma Keele, Nathaniel McCloskey and Daniel Norford.

Effie Ansah, who plays Sephy, said during the rehearsal process: “I love that this story is at its core a Romeo and Juliet story that everyone is familiar with. But also, there are so many layers to it that are just poignant and heartfelt, and human – the fact that these two people who love each other so much, aren’t allowed to be together.

“And the stakes are even higher, because of class and race, family and society, and the world that they live in.”

Tickets for Noughts & Crosses at Oxford Playhouse are priced from £10 and are available from the box office on (01865) 305305 or book online at www.oxfordplayhouse.com