Interview: Jessica Layde on playing Minerva in NOUGHTS & CROSSES
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is set to deliver multiple treats this summer, one of which is Dominic Cookes's adaptation of Malorie Blackman's acclaimed young adult novel Noughts & Crosses. Directed by Tinuke Craig in her Regent’s Park debut, Noughts & Crosses tells the story of two lifelong friends who live on separate sides of a deeply divided society. We spoke to cast member Jessica Layde, who plays Minerva, to find out more about the production.
How is the rehearsal process going for Noughts & Crosses?
It’s going really well! For a play about racism, our rehearsal room is full of laughter. I really feel like I’m in safe hands with this team. The vision is so clear and it feels like everyone in the room wants to do the story justice. It’s an insanely talented and skilled room, I’m learning everyday just by being around them all and honestly feel blessed to be a part of such a beautiful production.
Do you think 2025 is a particularly important time to tell this story?
I do. Stories like this are always important to tell but I think depicting an Apartheid right now carries a lot of weight. I think people tend to get quite blasé of the fact that ‘it’s in the past’ so when sentiments and behaviours creep back up in different dressing, there is an unpreparedness and, in my opinion, a stubbornness to admit that we let things slide.
The McGregors carry the weight of years of colonialism and injustice on their backs. Their lives are so confined due to institutionalised segregation and we see how that pressure can manifest in the play.
No one can thrive in an apartheid, the losses vary depending on what side you end up on, but you lose regardless. The notion of racial superiority or eugenics is so stifling, it takes so much work to maintain that belief because the simplest truth topples it to nothing.
Can you tell us a little about the character of Minerva, and what drew you to her?
Minerva is Sephy’s older sister and they have a very fraught relationship. She has a very different mindset to Sephy, she’s very much at odds with Sephy’s politics and rebelliousness. The Hadley household is regimented and distant and has been slowly cracking away for years but Minerva has an incredible ability to play all sides which I find quite fascinating. She is so well-presented, even being described in the script as the ‘perfect daughter’ but there’s so much bubbling underneath. She is the perfect daughter, therefore she is overlooked but she sees everything. As the oldest, you can be seen as an adult before you are one, and bear responsibilities that your siblings do not have to tend with. In classic older sister vain, Minerva’s role in the family is maintenance. She has no desire to shake the status quo; she goes about her business and does what is needed of her. She’s also quite catty and sly which I love and is gorgeous to play with.
What additional aspects do you need to be aware of when performing in an outdoor environment like Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre?
Pollen! I get hayfever really bad all year round but I’ve stocked up on anti-histamines so hoping for the best! And someone pointed out for me on day one; no blackouts. It makes staging so much more fun through. The theatre has a large capacity but the way it is configured, it feels so intimate. You have to get creative about building suspense and being impactful without relying on a quick cut to black.
Noughts & Crosses is a much-loved young adult book. What did you most enjoy reading when you were growing up?
I remember reading Noughts & Crosses when I was about 12 and staying up past bedtime to finish it. I got to the end and was so shaken I couldn’t sleep, it just broke my heart.
I read a lot growing up, my aunty was an English teacher and would take us to Borders religiously. I was a big YA girl. I was definitely raised by Jacqueline Wilson, I even wrote her a letter when I was in primary school; she replied and was lovely! Then the dystopian phase began. I read all of them. I loved an unsuspecting teen girl overthrowing an authoritarian government while simultaneously bagging a hottie and falling in love.
