Noughts + Crosses star Masali Baduza on Black Lives Matter
The reverse-race drama streaming on Binge portrays an alternative world where African ‘Crosses’ rule over the European ‘Noughts’.
When she auditioned for the “reverse-race” love story Noughts + Crosses, South African actress Masali Baduza had never read a script in which a young black female was in a position of privilege.
The BBC television adaptation of British author Malorie Blackman’s novels, which portray a fictional dystopian future where Europeans have been colonised by Africa, is now streaming exclusively in Australia on Binge. Set in the fictional city Albion — an alternative London — where African “Crosses” rule over the European “Noughts”, Baduza stars as Sephy Hadley, the liberal-minded daughter of the state’s home secretary, who falls in love with Callum (Jack Rowan,) her domestic worker’s son from the white underclass.
Summoning inspiration for the role, Baduza says she modelled her character on Malia and Sasha Obama, the daughters of former US president Barack Obama. “I was trying to portray that sense of regal energy because they are the closest influence I have who are daughters of presidents and prime ministers … (and) who are educated and privileged a lot,” she tells The Australian over the phone from South Africa, where she lives and where the series was filmed. Her technique was successful. In an early scene Callum and Sephy meet at a party. Dressed in an electric red dress and thick gold necklace, Sephy shines like royalty.
Growing up the daughter of a South African journalist, Baduza says she was taught about the global history of black people. But it was living abroad for the first time — in the US — that reshaped her understanding of race structures. Baduza studied acting at the New York Film Academy during Obama’s presidency in 2016.
She describes her time there as a “complete culture shock” and a “completely different way of living … for me, that was when I first got involved in Black Lives Matter and social justice. It’s very different being black in America versus being black in South Africa. I felt it more in America.”
Baduza, 23, for whom Noughts + Crosses is her first major role, hopes the show will change how audiences think of racial inequality. “I hope that people can watch this show and have a chance to put themselves in someone else’s shoes and live life as someone who is oppressed,” she says. She believes the global attention on race relations that has happened as a result of the Black Lives Matter protests will add another element to how the show — which critics described as “uncomfortable” viewing and “must-see TV” when it aired in Britain in March — is received by audiences today.
“I think we’ve gotten to a place in the world where people are ready to listen and hear the experiences of black people worldwide and how they live in relation to white people. People are more aware and know more about what it’s like to live as a black person, to live a life of oppression and to always be at a disadvantage when it comes to social and political issues.”
However, she says that at the core of Noughts + Crosses is the story of two star-crossed lovers, which Baduza believes will resonate with all audiences. “It’s also a love story though and everyone can relate to a love story,” she says.
With the show covering only part of the first book, the production team is hoping for a second series, which would solidify further Blackman’s dire warning about concentrating power in the hands of one group of people. “No change has happened comfortably. When people become uncomfortable they can see reality,” Baduza says.
Noughts + Crosses is streaming on Binge.