THE EFFECT

By Lucy Prebble
Directed by Mitchell Cushman

The Effect is a clinical romance. Two young volunteers, Tristan and Connie, agree to take part in a clinical drug trial. Succumbing to the gravitational pull of attraction and love, however, Tristan and Connie manage to throw the trial off-course, much to the frustration of the clinicians involved. This funny, moving and perhaps surprisingly human play explores questions of sanity, neurology and the limits of medicine, alongside ideas of fate, loyalty and the inevitability of physical attraction.

“...Prebble writes with a really impressive command of complex ideas, and her mix of the personal and the political is here nearly perfect … The result is humane and compelling … intensive, stimulating and moving … what might well be the best new play of the year.”

– Aleks Sierz, Arts Desk

The world premiere of The Effect was co-produced by Headlong and performed at the National Theatre's Cottesloe Theatre from November 2012-23 February 2013, starring Billie Piper and Jonjo O'Neill.