The adaptation struggles with melodrama, despite the effective direction by Tinuke Craig and Ingrid Mackinnon’s impactful movement work. Corinna Brown and Noah Valentine portray star-crossed lovers in a dystopian British society where dark-skinned Crosses hold privilege over white-skinned noughts. The narrative touches on significant themes of segregation, oppression, and rebellion echoing real-world injustices, but sacrifices some personal connections for thematic emphasis. The stark, industrial set design contributes to the oppressive atmosphere, culminating in a bleak ending that connects deeply with the issues of state violence and young rebellion.
While director Tinuke Craig and movement director Ingrid Mackinnon create tense, pacy storytelling, they are let down by Dominic Cooke's clunky adaptation, which teeters into melodrama.
Malorie Blackman's YA bestseller is set in a dystopian Britain where black skinned people are privileged and white skinned people are oppressed.
Corinna Brown and Noah Valentine make a poignant pair of star crossed lovers in a flipped world where dark skinned Crosses are privileged and white skinned noughts systemically oppressed.
There are thought-provoking strands here about state oppression, checking your privilege, and young people drawn into terrorism, and while the ending is bleak, that's meat and drink.
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