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The Effect
I can tell the difference between who I am and a side effect.
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.
Following on from the critical and commercial success of Enron, The Effect is the latest play from Lucy Prebble, and reunites Enron's writer and director once more delivering a vibrant theatrical exploration into the human brain via the heart. This world premiere is co-produced by Headlong and will be performed at the National Theatre's Cottesloe Theatre from November 2012-23 February 2013, starring Billie Piper and Jonjo O'Neill.
The Guardian has selected The Effect as one of the highlights of 'the best theatre for autumn 2012' (2/9/12).
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.
Following on from the critical and commercial success of Enron, The Effect is the latest play from Lucy Prebble, and reunites Enron's writer and director once more delivering a vibrant theatrical exploration into the human brain via the heart. This world premiere is co-produced by Headlong and will be performed at the National Theatre's Cottesloe Theatre from November 2012-23 February 2013, starring Billie Piper and Jonjo O'Neill.
The Guardian has selected The Effect as one of the highlights of 'the best theatre for autumn 2012' (2/9/12).
110 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2012
41 people are currently reading
777 people want to read
About the author
Lucy Prebble
10 books42 followersLucy Prebble is a British playwright. She is the author of the plays The Sugar Syndrome, The Effect and ENRON, and adaptation writer of the television series Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
February 26, 2018
From BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3:
by Lucy Prebble.
Starring Jessie Buckley, Christine Entwisle, Damien Molony and Samuel West.
"I can tell the difference between who I am and a side effect."
Award-winning chemical romance.
Connie (Jessie Buckley - 'The Last Post', 'Taboo') and Tristan (Damien Molony - 'Crashing', 'Being Human') are taking part in a clinical trial for a new psychoactive drug. So when they start to feel attracted to each other, can they really trust how they feel?
A profound, and funny, play about love, depression and selfhood, winner of the Critics' Circle Award for Best New Play when it was performed at the National Theatre in 2012.
Dr Lorna James .... Christine Entwisle
Connie .... Jessie Buckley
Tristan .... Damien Molony
Dr Toby Sealey .... Samuel West
Composer, Richard Hammarton
Writer, Lucy Prebble
Director, Abigail le Fleming
THE WRITER
Lucy Prebble is a writer for film, television, games and theatre. Before THE EFFECT she wrote the hugely successful ENRON (2010). Her first play, THE SUGAR SYNDROME (2003), won her the George Devine Award and was performed at the Royal Court.
Lucy is an Associate Artist at the Old Vic Theatre.
For television, she is the creator of the TV series SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL. She is Co-Executive Producer and writer on HBO's media mogul drama, SUCCESSION.
THE COMPOSER
Richard Hammarton is a composer and sound designer for Theatre, TV and Film. His work has been heard throughout the UK and Internationally. He was part of the design team that won the Manchester Evening News "Best Design" award for DR FAUSTUS in 2010 and was Sound Designer for the Olivier Award winning play, THE MOUNTAINTOP. He also worked on the Ivor Novello winning RIPPER STREET for TV.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09p...
by Lucy Prebble.
Starring Jessie Buckley, Christine Entwisle, Damien Molony and Samuel West.
"I can tell the difference between who I am and a side effect."
Award-winning chemical romance.
Connie (Jessie Buckley - 'The Last Post', 'Taboo') and Tristan (Damien Molony - 'Crashing', 'Being Human') are taking part in a clinical trial for a new psychoactive drug. So when they start to feel attracted to each other, can they really trust how they feel?
A profound, and funny, play about love, depression and selfhood, winner of the Critics' Circle Award for Best New Play when it was performed at the National Theatre in 2012.
Dr Lorna James .... Christine Entwisle
Connie .... Jessie Buckley
Tristan .... Damien Molony
Dr Toby Sealey .... Samuel West
Composer, Richard Hammarton
Writer, Lucy Prebble
Director, Abigail le Fleming
THE WRITER
Lucy Prebble is a writer for film, television, games and theatre. Before THE EFFECT she wrote the hugely successful ENRON (2010). Her first play, THE SUGAR SYNDROME (2003), won her the George Devine Award and was performed at the Royal Court.
Lucy is an Associate Artist at the Old Vic Theatre.
For television, she is the creator of the TV series SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL. She is Co-Executive Producer and writer on HBO's media mogul drama, SUCCESSION.
THE COMPOSER
Richard Hammarton is a composer and sound designer for Theatre, TV and Film. His work has been heard throughout the UK and Internationally. He was part of the design team that won the Manchester Evening News "Best Design" award for DR FAUSTUS in 2010 and was Sound Designer for the Olivier Award winning play, THE MOUNTAINTOP. He also worked on the Ivor Novello winning RIPPER STREET for TV.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09p...
February 26, 2018
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09p...Description: "I can tell the difference between who I am and a side effect."
Award-winning chemical romance.
Connie (Jessie Buckley - 'The Last Post', 'Taboo') and Tristan (Damien Molony - 'Crashing', 'Being Human') are taking part in a clinical trial for a new psychoactive drug. So when they start to feel attracted to each other, can they really trust how they feel?
A profound, and funny, play about love, depression and selfhood, winner of the Critics' Circle Award for Best New Play when it was performed at the National Theatre in 2012.
Dr Lorna James .... Christine Entwisle
Connie .... Jessie Buckley
Tristan .... Damien Molony
Dr Toby Sealey .... Samuel West
Composer, Richard Hammarton
Writer, Lucy Prebble
Director, Abigail le Fleming
THE WRITER
Lucy Prebble is a writer for film, television, games and theatre. Before THE EFFECT she wrote the hugely successful ENRON (2010). Her first play, THE SUGAR SYNDROME (2003), won her the George Devine Award and was performed at the Royal Court.
Lucy is an Associate Artist at the Old Vic Theatre.
For television, she is the creator of the TV series SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL. She is Co-Executive Producer and writer on HBO's media mogul drama, SUCCESSION.
THE COMPOSER
Richard Hammarton is a composer and sound designer for Theatre, TV and Film. His work has been heard throughout the UK and Internationally. He was part of the design team that won the Manchester Evening News "Best Design" award for DR FAUSTUS in 2010 and was Sound Designer for the Olivier Award winning play, THE MOUNTAINTOP. He also worked on the Ivor Novello winning RIPPER STREET for TV.
February 28, 2020
3.5*
Interesting, but I'm not entirely sure as to how the conclusion was meant to be taken or what the reader was supposed to glean from the text. I feel that that was the point - the debate explored in the play was difficult and I feel that there still isn't supposed to be a right answer.
I enjoyed Connie and Tristan's relationship, and the conversations between Dr James and Toby, and how the locations were so easily imaginable, I could picture them almost as though I was reading a novel, they were so vivid.
Interesting, but I'm not entirely sure as to how the conclusion was meant to be taken or what the reader was supposed to glean from the text. I feel that that was the point - the debate explored in the play was difficult and I feel that there still isn't supposed to be a right answer.
I enjoyed Connie and Tristan's relationship, and the conversations between Dr James and Toby, and how the locations were so easily imaginable, I could picture them almost as though I was reading a novel, they were so vivid.
June 15, 2020
This was a book required for my English course this year and given the hype my English department gave it, I have to say that it was a HUGE disappointment.
I expected to read an intricate exploration of the dynamics and complexities surrounding the relationship between love, science and depression.
What I got was a bunch of annoyingly irrelevant dialogue (that seems to be there simply to depict the vernacular of the middle-class British), similarly irrelevant arguments and SOME thought-provoking scenes peppered (very lightly) in that, even then, don't ever touch on any concrete ideas.
Upon my second read of this play, I proceeded to make notes as I was reading. These are not so much notes as they are just rants. So enjoy: (I didn't edit them because I can't be bothered to spend any extra time or effort on this play) P.S the page numbers correspond to the pink edition.
Pgs 25-26 Connie and Tristan meet for the first time. Connie is shy about her urine which makes me think she has a much more reserved personality than Tristan. Tristan is...forward. But in an admittedly charming way. "You know, you're an attractive woman Dr James." He's also a bit silly.
They sort of make small talk which is normal for 2 people just meeting each other.
Notably, (also pg 27) it is Tristan who says "she's going to have to be his friend now."
It's kind of already established on pg 27 that they both get 25mg of the RLU37.
When they have blood drawn on pg 28, Connie looks away and Tristan watches. She is clearly more strung out from the process yet still offers him her biscuit.
Connie has clear signs of anxiety (biting her nails, pg 28). Tristan, surpringly, does it too. The bond over this.
When they find out that they have the same birthday they also bond even more. I understand how serendipetious things like that can feel in the moment. It's like how i felt when __and I found out our birthdays are almost a week apart., It feels like fate but really it's just coincidence.
OF COURSE Tristan thinks its a sign, he's the less scientifc and factual of the 2.
I think it's clever how Tristan uses the twin joke to find out about her life.
He assumes she has a boyfriend and she doesn't seem to mind the assumption?
pg 31 Connie really wants it to seem like she's happy, which just makes it less believable.
Tristan "Why don't you go?" has such a free spirit in comparison to Connie who says in response "Money, time, life. There's just so much to do."
Pg 32 Stroop Test - Connie says guilty after T, maybe because she already feels guilty about her feeling for T when she has a bf. Tristan has daddy issues. C has diet issues. They're both the same amount of lonely.
"People prone to depression tend to attribute success to external causes and failure to internal ones."
The agent's designed to increase levels of dopamine.
Pg 36 we meet Toby for the first time
Toby's been married and divorced since they broke up.
NB dosage increased to 50mg pg 41.
T and C talk about the weird dreams they've been having.
'Brain scene' pg 42-43 So essentially, Toby thinks that we don't have souls, or if we do they're just part of our brain. The sense of 'us'u, who we are, is only a tiny part of what's going on in our brain. There's also all the unconcsious things our brain is controlling to keep up alive.
pg 44 T to C: 'You're such a grown-up'
WOah woah woah. T is being so forward here! Travelling together??? Asking if her parents would like him? If they like her current bf??? Is this the drug or just his personality? I mean he was alos like this in the beginning but it wasn't as bad, so maybe the drug is amplifying those aspects of him.
pg 46 it keep son hitting me how disimilar these characters are...like Connie is so adamant that any feelings they are feeling is as a result of the drugs.....and Tristan is completely the opposite. At the same time, she's cautious about getting to know him more because I think she doesn't want her feelings ot get any stronger. I think the huge thing here that the English dep keeps on missing here is that SHE HAS A BLOODY BOYFRIEND!!!!!!?????? like does that somehow not matter now????????
As much as I like Tristan's character, I must say he's a bit of a dick for flirting with her so hard when he knows she has a boyfriend.
Side note: Tristan just carries around an extra phone???!
Pg 47: T: Well, that's a cold way of looking at a person.
C: Why!? We *are* our bodies, our bodies are us...there's not something *more*... And that's fine. That's enough. It's like, the world is incredible and beautiful, even though we know there's no go behind it. It's even *more* amazing for that.
NB pg 48: Tristan says that it doesn't really matter why they love each other...they do and that's tha.t I don't know how I feel about that. I want someone to love me for me, not for someone who they think I'm not. If I'm going to fall in love witht a person and really trult believe that they love me, they'd have to know me inside out, love every part of me... how can they really love ME, if I'm say putting on a facade? Like this study, no one's really acting like they would in real life. People sure as hell don't fall for each other that quickly unless it's an Aciman novel...although maybe that's me being too scientific, because I do believe in fate and everything happening for a reason... but at the same time like I said I wouldn't trust Tristan if he told me that he loved me either because he doesn't really know ME. He barely knows the basic stuff you know? It's not like in Find
Tristan says "people fall in love and meet each other all sorts of ways, doesn't matter what starts it" I jus thave no idea what I feel about that anymore. I've kind of written myself int o a hole here.
OKAY OKAY PG 53: this. THis point right fucking here is wehre it should have ended!!!!!!!!!!! FUcking DR James literally just said how them getting out and smoking invalidated the entire study...SO WHY DOES SHE KEEP THEM THERE FUCK! Also I guess you could argue that mahbe everything that just happened between them was only caused by that.
Right so pgs 55-59 are very interesting because it's this convversation that seems, on the surface, to be professional but the subtext is personal. Toby thinks that the only way Tristan and COnnie's brains can make sense of the symptoms they're experiencing as a result of the drug is by interpreting it as love. He also thinks that this drug can make people fall in love easier, and his line of thought is that this is a good thing becuase "medical science has extended everyone;s lives without taking any responsibilty for us having to be married loner. We could do with a bit of help!" As if love is that cut and dry, that subject to time, as if people can only stay in love for a few years until they're maxed out. He's looking at it form a completely consumerist pov.
Now my question is, on pg 59, is Lorna lying about the placebo just to prove her point? Because from what I know, Tristan IS on the drug, that's why he overdoses. Also, does COnnie slip him her pill at the end because she's afriad that without the drug he'll fall out of love with her? And does she stay with him because she truly loves him or because she feels responsible for what happened?
Anyway, on pg 59 the dosage increases to 100mg.
pg 72 okay okay hahahhaha i'd just like to know one thing...WHY THE FUCK WOULD LORNA LIE OT CONNIE LIKE THAT?!>?!?!?!?!? SHe liteRALLY WAS AFRIAD OF THE STUDY BEING JEOPRODIZED BECAUSE THEY HAD SEX (WHICH BY THE WAY, SECOND POINT IN HE STORY WHERE IT SHOULD HAVE ENDED ) AND THEN SHE TELLS CONNIE THAT? anD A LIE NO LESS?? THATS THE THIRD POINT IN THE STUDY WHERE IT SHOULD HAVE ENDED. GOD.
THey increase dosage to 150mg after that conversation.
The fact that Tristan actually gets angry...when lorna tells him 'you know connie's in a relationship right?',,,first of all thank fuck someone finally said it, second of all I dont care if ots the drug but damn tristan thats low.
this WHOlE converdation on pg 76 is honeslty the most childish thing ive ever read.
pg 77 connie basically tells him he's on the placebo...well i guess everyone's thrown caution to the wind, so why not!!>>
apogjiagnaignawgawplot,jmawb prolkja,e mtsfz;dx
pg 79 'ill eat the sick from your mouth? thats disgusitng, they are literally insane. tehres no way they can be in love, they are completely incompatible. I mean, they keep on calling each otehr childish and sluts....ah yes, the foundation of every healthy relationship.
pg 82 lorna really thinks she can kick toby out and not invalidate the study? this is too ridiculous for words. this play is not so much an exploration of love and science as it is two incompetent doctors trying to find excuses as to why they're too lazy to admit that the study is invalidated and they're too lazy to start again.
pg 84 toby to lorna: you are a good doctor, who suffers from profound depressive episodes which she refuses to medicate. And you're desperate for any evidence that supports that position. THAT'S TRUE AND IT IS SO AWFUL THAT SHE IS LETTING PERSONAL DISCREPANCIES INFLUENCE THE STUDY TO THIS DEGREE =. my frustration with this play is never-ending
pg 87 toby says he ended hings because of her depression, he doesn't think him ending things caused it
Other Notes
*The ending was clearly a cop-out because she didn't know how to wrap up all the cans of worms that she opened by writing this play.
*Both of the relationships in this play are toxic.
I expected to read an intricate exploration of the dynamics and complexities surrounding the relationship between love, science and depression.
What I got was a bunch of annoyingly irrelevant dialogue (that seems to be there simply to depict the vernacular of the middle-class British), similarly irrelevant arguments and SOME thought-provoking scenes peppered (very lightly) in that, even then, don't ever touch on any concrete ideas.
Upon my second read of this play, I proceeded to make notes as I was reading. These are not so much notes as they are just rants. So enjoy: (I didn't edit them because I can't be bothered to spend any extra time or effort on this play) P.S the page numbers correspond to the pink edition.
Pgs 25-26 Connie and Tristan meet for the first time. Connie is shy about her urine which makes me think she has a much more reserved personality than Tristan. Tristan is...forward. But in an admittedly charming way. "You know, you're an attractive woman Dr James." He's also a bit silly.
They sort of make small talk which is normal for 2 people just meeting each other.
Notably, (also pg 27) it is Tristan who says "she's going to have to be his friend now."
It's kind of already established on pg 27 that they both get 25mg of the RLU37.
When they have blood drawn on pg 28, Connie looks away and Tristan watches. She is clearly more strung out from the process yet still offers him her biscuit.
Connie has clear signs of anxiety (biting her nails, pg 28). Tristan, surpringly, does it too. The bond over this.
When they find out that they have the same birthday they also bond even more. I understand how serendipetious things like that can feel in the moment. It's like how i felt when __and I found out our birthdays are almost a week apart., It feels like fate but really it's just coincidence.
OF COURSE Tristan thinks its a sign, he's the less scientifc and factual of the 2.
I think it's clever how Tristan uses the twin joke to find out about her life.
He assumes she has a boyfriend and she doesn't seem to mind the assumption?
pg 31 Connie really wants it to seem like she's happy, which just makes it less believable.
Tristan "Why don't you go?" has such a free spirit in comparison to Connie who says in response "Money, time, life. There's just so much to do."
Pg 32 Stroop Test - Connie says guilty after T, maybe because she already feels guilty about her feeling for T when she has a bf. Tristan has daddy issues. C has diet issues. They're both the same amount of lonely.
"People prone to depression tend to attribute success to external causes and failure to internal ones."
The agent's designed to increase levels of dopamine.
Pg 36 we meet Toby for the first time
Toby's been married and divorced since they broke up.
NB dosage increased to 50mg pg 41.
T and C talk about the weird dreams they've been having.
'Brain scene' pg 42-43 So essentially, Toby thinks that we don't have souls, or if we do they're just part of our brain. The sense of 'us'u, who we are, is only a tiny part of what's going on in our brain. There's also all the unconcsious things our brain is controlling to keep up alive.
pg 44 T to C: 'You're such a grown-up'
WOah woah woah. T is being so forward here! Travelling together??? Asking if her parents would like him? If they like her current bf??? Is this the drug or just his personality? I mean he was alos like this in the beginning but it wasn't as bad, so maybe the drug is amplifying those aspects of him.
pg 46 it keep son hitting me how disimilar these characters are...like Connie is so adamant that any feelings they are feeling is as a result of the drugs.....and Tristan is completely the opposite. At the same time, she's cautious about getting to know him more because I think she doesn't want her feelings ot get any stronger. I think the huge thing here that the English dep keeps on missing here is that SHE HAS A BLOODY BOYFRIEND!!!!!!?????? like does that somehow not matter now????????
As much as I like Tristan's character, I must say he's a bit of a dick for flirting with her so hard when he knows she has a boyfriend.
Side note: Tristan just carries around an extra phone???!
Pg 47: T: Well, that's a cold way of looking at a person.
C: Why!? We *are* our bodies, our bodies are us...there's not something *more*... And that's fine. That's enough. It's like, the world is incredible and beautiful, even though we know there's no go behind it. It's even *more* amazing for that.
NB pg 48: Tristan says that it doesn't really matter why they love each other...they do and that's tha.t I don't know how I feel about that. I want someone to love me for me, not for someone who they think I'm not. If I'm going to fall in love witht a person and really trult believe that they love me, they'd have to know me inside out, love every part of me... how can they really love ME, if I'm say putting on a facade? Like this study, no one's really acting like they would in real life. People sure as hell don't fall for each other that quickly unless it's an Aciman novel...although maybe that's me being too scientific, because I do believe in fate and everything happening for a reason... but at the same time like I said I wouldn't trust Tristan if he told me that he loved me either because he doesn't really know ME. He barely knows the basic stuff you know? It's not like in Find
Tristan says "people fall in love and meet each other all sorts of ways, doesn't matter what starts it" I jus thave no idea what I feel about that anymore. I've kind of written myself int o a hole here.
OKAY OKAY PG 53: this. THis point right fucking here is wehre it should have ended!!!!!!!!!!! FUcking DR James literally just said how them getting out and smoking invalidated the entire study...SO WHY DOES SHE KEEP THEM THERE FUCK! Also I guess you could argue that mahbe everything that just happened between them was only caused by that.
Right so pgs 55-59 are very interesting because it's this convversation that seems, on the surface, to be professional but the subtext is personal. Toby thinks that the only way Tristan and COnnie's brains can make sense of the symptoms they're experiencing as a result of the drug is by interpreting it as love. He also thinks that this drug can make people fall in love easier, and his line of thought is that this is a good thing becuase "medical science has extended everyone;s lives without taking any responsibilty for us having to be married loner. We could do with a bit of help!" As if love is that cut and dry, that subject to time, as if people can only stay in love for a few years until they're maxed out. He's looking at it form a completely consumerist pov.
Now my question is, on pg 59, is Lorna lying about the placebo just to prove her point? Because from what I know, Tristan IS on the drug, that's why he overdoses. Also, does COnnie slip him her pill at the end because she's afriad that without the drug he'll fall out of love with her? And does she stay with him because she truly loves him or because she feels responsible for what happened?
Anyway, on pg 59 the dosage increases to 100mg.
pg 72 okay okay hahahhaha i'd just like to know one thing...WHY THE FUCK WOULD LORNA LIE OT CONNIE LIKE THAT?!>?!?!?!?!? SHe liteRALLY WAS AFRIAD OF THE STUDY BEING JEOPRODIZED BECAUSE THEY HAD SEX (WHICH BY THE WAY, SECOND POINT IN HE STORY WHERE IT SHOULD HAVE ENDED ) AND THEN SHE TELLS CONNIE THAT? anD A LIE NO LESS?? THATS THE THIRD POINT IN THE STUDY WHERE IT SHOULD HAVE ENDED. GOD.
THey increase dosage to 150mg after that conversation.
The fact that Tristan actually gets angry...when lorna tells him 'you know connie's in a relationship right?',,,first of all thank fuck someone finally said it, second of all I dont care if ots the drug but damn tristan thats low.
this WHOlE converdation on pg 76 is honeslty the most childish thing ive ever read.
pg 77 connie basically tells him he's on the placebo...well i guess everyone's thrown caution to the wind, so why not!!>>
apogjiagnaignawgawplot,jmawb prolkja,e mtsfz;dx
pg 79 'ill eat the sick from your mouth? thats disgusitng, they are literally insane. tehres no way they can be in love, they are completely incompatible. I mean, they keep on calling each otehr childish and sluts....ah yes, the foundation of every healthy relationship.
pg 82 lorna really thinks she can kick toby out and not invalidate the study? this is too ridiculous for words. this play is not so much an exploration of love and science as it is two incompetent doctors trying to find excuses as to why they're too lazy to admit that the study is invalidated and they're too lazy to start again.
pg 84 toby to lorna: you are a good doctor, who suffers from profound depressive episodes which she refuses to medicate. And you're desperate for any evidence that supports that position. THAT'S TRUE AND IT IS SO AWFUL THAT SHE IS LETTING PERSONAL DISCREPANCIES INFLUENCE THE STUDY TO THIS DEGREE =. my frustration with this play is never-ending
pg 87 toby says he ended hings because of her depression, he doesn't think him ending things caused it
Other Notes
*The ending was clearly a cop-out because she didn't know how to wrap up all the cans of worms that she opened by writing this play.
*Both of the relationships in this play are toxic.
April 13, 2018
I actually read this 5 years ago when it first came out, but this reread was impelled by the fact I am seeing a local SF production in a week, and wanted a refresher prior to that. The play reads well, and I think should make for an intriguing show. One odd thing is that the introduction (which SHOULD be an AFTERWORD, and is how I read it, since it makes little sense unless one has already read the play) mentions a key bit of stage direction (Dr. James ripping apart a brain), that has been deleted from the revised script!
April 27, 2024
Prebble explores our physiology, emotions, the relationship between them, and drugs. She leans to humanism and so a skeptical stance towards medical utopias.
July 27, 2020
I can tell the difference between who I am and a side effect.
This play had an interesting, well, effect on me. I wasn't sure if I liked it or didn't. And I've come to the realization that it just didn't have that profound of an effect on me. Because I honestly didn't really enjoy it that much.
The Effect has a very small cast of characters. Connie and Tristan are the two participants in an anti-depressant drug trial. Dr James runs the experiment. And Toby, well, he runs some things, too.
I think Prebble went into this play with an idea, or set of ideas, that just didn't play out that well in the end. Anti-depressants, an [improbable, codependent] love story, [secondary] depression--they just don't seem to be all that cohesive. It's trying to do and be a lot of things all at once. And I don't feel like it hit the mark. I mean, the primary focus of this play is a drug experiment. But really, is it more than just a simple experiment? Or is Prebble experimenting on us?
I've come to the conclusion that I don't really care.
This play had an interesting, well, effect on me. I wasn't sure if I liked it or didn't. And I've come to the realization that it just didn't have that profound of an effect on me. Because I honestly didn't really enjoy it that much.
The Effect has a very small cast of characters. Connie and Tristan are the two participants in an anti-depressant drug trial. Dr James runs the experiment. And Toby, well, he runs some things, too.
I think Prebble went into this play with an idea, or set of ideas, that just didn't play out that well in the end. Anti-depressants, an [improbable, codependent] love story, [secondary] depression--they just don't seem to be all that cohesive. It's trying to do and be a lot of things all at once. And I don't feel like it hit the mark. I mean, the primary focus of this play is a drug experiment. But really, is it more than just a simple experiment? Or is Prebble experimenting on us?
I've come to the conclusion that I don't really care.
June 26, 2022
What in the actual fuck was this...?
March 31, 2024
Oh god brutal
May 15, 2024
Read this front to back, one sitting I just couldn’t stop reading. I felt very taken by the story and I will definitely watch the play online as soon as I can. Wow
February 26, 2026
Ben Reads Plays #5
I was expecting to enjoy this much more than I did. Lucy Prebble clearly has a talent for dialogue and there were some interesting moments but the more I read the more muddled I became. The second half became quite messy and I didn’t find the ending very satisfying. It was essentially meant to be a clinical study of love which on its own could be very interesting but it just didn’t make me think all that much. Connie was the only really compelling character to me.
I was expecting to enjoy this much more than I did. Lucy Prebble clearly has a talent for dialogue and there were some interesting moments but the more I read the more muddled I became. The second half became quite messy and I didn’t find the ending very satisfying. It was essentially meant to be a clinical study of love which on its own could be very interesting but it just didn’t make me think all that much. Connie was the only really compelling character to me.
March 21, 2024
Read it for class, I really liked the questions it posed, is love just neurons producing dopamine or is it something more? Would have read better as a novel or if I saw it in action as a play, but overall really short and really enjoyable.
July 29, 2024
i had forgotten how it ended!! god this was such a good play such incredible performances and really interesting staging and lighting and just overall a really interesting concept. wahoo!
April 20, 2020
Awesome themes, great dialogue scenes. Would love to see a production of this
March 6, 2024
Crying
October 7, 2022
I read through this very quickly but it's left me with a lot of thoughts
(it kinda feels familiar so I think I might have read it before but I'm not entirely sure)
(also I read it as part of Prebbles Play collection but logging it separately until I read the rest of the collection)
(it kinda feels familiar so I think I might have read it before but I'm not entirely sure)
(also I read it as part of Prebbles Play collection but logging it separately until I read the rest of the collection)
September 6, 2023
4.5⭐️
got to see this live at the national theatre…went home and read the screenplay and honestly the performance and the acting made this story for me. This play is a philosopher of psychiatry dream come true. The end needed a little more development but no complaints from me
got to see this live at the national theatre…went home and read the screenplay and honestly the performance and the acting made this story for me. This play is a philosopher of psychiatry dream come true. The end needed a little more development but no complaints from me
February 23, 2026
not sure how i feel about this. i thought it was a five star read until it plateaued halfway through....can't tell if i wish the ending was different for the right reasons.
May 21, 2023
2017 Reading
Lucy Prebble's The Effect advertises itself as a "clinical romance." Functioning both literal and metaphoric, the use of clinical is suggestive. While this play is conceptually intriguing, I find it moderately underwhelming, especially when compared to the amazing plays I've read recently.
One thing I enjoy, though, is the conversation the play has regarding depression, chemical imbalances, and the efficacy of anti-depressants. Dr. James--a clinical psychologist tasked with administering and observing participates in a drug trial--says to Toby--a dull pharmaceutical representative with whom she has a complicated romantic history--the following: "We're going to look back at all this chemical imbalance shit like it's the four humours all over again. I mean, why am I here?" (82). Interestingly enough, Toby does not address her first inquiry. Instead, he deflects by asking in return, "What, here?" (82). Dr. James' question, however, addresses a central concern at the play's core: What of ourselves and our complex psychology do we know, and if we are wrong, how will posterity understand the ways in which we understood (or misunderstood) ourselves?
***
2023 Reading
I first read this play six years ago, and I like it so much more now. There are two things one of the doctors (Toby Sealey) says that effectively encapsulate two concepts that have emerged as significant to my understanding of what it means to be human: the need for the eradication of binaries and the necessity of thinking of romantic love as disruptive.
Early in the play, Toby explains why he became a psychiatrist. He says, "So I became a psychiatrist and of course, like all doctors, you find your chosen specialty is defined by what goes wrong" (29). This is a long monologue, but later in this monologue, Toby clarifies how pursuing an anomaly (i.e., the wrong) informs his understanding of binary categories such as normal and abnormal. He says, "And how about we start by expanding that idea of 'normal' anyway to include mental illness. We are many of us going to experience a mental health condition in our lives. Why are we still tied to the notion of the sane and the insane? Why not call ourselves the insane and the 'not insane at the moment'?" (30). Here, Toby sounds like Freud. In Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Freud suggests that compulsory heterosexuality is, in effect, an abnormal way of conceptualizing sexuality. Like Toby, Freud arrives at a position that eschews binary thinking. This is, I argue, the goal; more than anything, binary thinking is a trap.
Later in the play, Toby explains the importance the play's other doctor and former love interest (Lorna James) has for him and, importantly, his work. He says, "You were right. I probably wouldn't be doing what I'm doing if I hadn't met you. I love you, Lorn. And it's not romantic cos that's when lies start and it's not family, because that's this wonderful genetic trick. I just. I've built a bit of my brain around you" (98). Again, earlier in the play, these characters suggest a previous romantic relationship, but we should reject, to some degree, Toby's framing in this moment. Instead, Toby should acknowledge and embrace romantic love's liberatory, disruptive nature. But even if he cannot see this, we, the audience, can. Romantic and erotic love forces the subject to build a bit of themselves around their object of affection. To do this is far from easy. In fact, it is, at times, frustrating and disruptive. But as Freud teaches, we want the disruption; we want the agitation. In this respect, romantic love possesses an element of the death drive. It maintains that agitation that is so foundational to being a lacking subject, which all of us are.
Lucy Prebble's The Effect advertises itself as a "clinical romance." Functioning both literal and metaphoric, the use of clinical is suggestive. While this play is conceptually intriguing, I find it moderately underwhelming, especially when compared to the amazing plays I've read recently.
One thing I enjoy, though, is the conversation the play has regarding depression, chemical imbalances, and the efficacy of anti-depressants. Dr. James--a clinical psychologist tasked with administering and observing participates in a drug trial--says to Toby--a dull pharmaceutical representative with whom she has a complicated romantic history--the following: "We're going to look back at all this chemical imbalance shit like it's the four humours all over again. I mean, why am I here?" (82). Interestingly enough, Toby does not address her first inquiry. Instead, he deflects by asking in return, "What, here?" (82). Dr. James' question, however, addresses a central concern at the play's core: What of ourselves and our complex psychology do we know, and if we are wrong, how will posterity understand the ways in which we understood (or misunderstood) ourselves?
***
2023 Reading
I first read this play six years ago, and I like it so much more now. There are two things one of the doctors (Toby Sealey) says that effectively encapsulate two concepts that have emerged as significant to my understanding of what it means to be human: the need for the eradication of binaries and the necessity of thinking of romantic love as disruptive.
Early in the play, Toby explains why he became a psychiatrist. He says, "So I became a psychiatrist and of course, like all doctors, you find your chosen specialty is defined by what goes wrong" (29). This is a long monologue, but later in this monologue, Toby clarifies how pursuing an anomaly (i.e., the wrong) informs his understanding of binary categories such as normal and abnormal. He says, "And how about we start by expanding that idea of 'normal' anyway to include mental illness. We are many of us going to experience a mental health condition in our lives. Why are we still tied to the notion of the sane and the insane? Why not call ourselves the insane and the 'not insane at the moment'?" (30). Here, Toby sounds like Freud. In Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Freud suggests that compulsory heterosexuality is, in effect, an abnormal way of conceptualizing sexuality. Like Toby, Freud arrives at a position that eschews binary thinking. This is, I argue, the goal; more than anything, binary thinking is a trap.
Later in the play, Toby explains the importance the play's other doctor and former love interest (Lorna James) has for him and, importantly, his work. He says, "You were right. I probably wouldn't be doing what I'm doing if I hadn't met you. I love you, Lorn. And it's not romantic cos that's when lies start and it's not family, because that's this wonderful genetic trick. I just. I've built a bit of my brain around you" (98). Again, earlier in the play, these characters suggest a previous romantic relationship, but we should reject, to some degree, Toby's framing in this moment. Instead, Toby should acknowledge and embrace romantic love's liberatory, disruptive nature. But even if he cannot see this, we, the audience, can. Romantic and erotic love forces the subject to build a bit of themselves around their object of affection. To do this is far from easy. In fact, it is, at times, frustrating and disruptive. But as Freud teaches, we want the disruption; we want the agitation. In this respect, romantic love possesses an element of the death drive. It maintains that agitation that is so foundational to being a lacking subject, which all of us are.
April 23, 2023
Definitely not as good as the first time I read it (~7 years ago, gross) which is to be expected with the number of plays I’ve read in the interim. The discussions of depression as an illness vs. side effect in the second half definitely resonates more now than it did then, but in a “is this play worth producing” way more than anything else. I think if this play focused more on Tristan/Connie’s narrative, I’d be more onboard for presenting this story, but I’m not sure how the play as a whole resonates.
December 16, 2017
A play that asks questions about psychotropic drugs in a clinical trial and their effect on shaping emotions - is it real love if it’s triggered by chemicals?
December 31, 2023
Really enjoyed this play and enjoyed teaching it, too!
May 4, 2020
So what you're thinking you've discovered Viagra for the heart?Prebble's short play, featured on BBC Radio 3's Drama on 3 is about two people, Connie (Jessie Buckley) and Tristan (Damian Molony) , who share their same birthday and meet at a clinical drug trial. She's a student psychologist enrolled in the trial for research purposes, he's just doing what he knows to earn a quick buck. The cast is rounded out by Dr Lorna James (Christine Entwistle) and Dr Toby Sealey (Samuel West) who lead the trial.
I do think the concept of the play has something going for it. The messy reality of human infatuation and romance are hinted at as the central couple struggle to define the blurred lines between their own feelings and their drug-induced dopamine rush. On the flip side, the doctors leading the trial ruminate over the ramifications such a "Viagra for the heart" might entail.
However, a scene that struck me as odd was between those very two doctors, in which Dr Lorna opens up about her own experience with depression, boldly stating she doesn't believe in the benefits of anti-depression medication. While that's something quite private for lots of people and based on various preferences and medical decisions, I do think it can read as a simplistic or even negative portrayal of the benefits of medication and hormonal treatments of mental illness. Oddly enough, despite the play's attempt at nuance, for me at least this scene was a miss.
Now, it's a nice enough distraction with brilliant performances so if you have some chores to do why not put it on in the back. If you're looking for a drug trial that helps two people find themselves and each other on the way through it, I highly recommend Netflix' Maniac with Emma Stone and Jonah Hill.
CN: mental illness, mentions of suicide and drug abuse
March 22, 2020
"If I did that for you, I'd be holding back the sea from ever coming in."
I've started reading plays again, as it's a bit like going to the theatre, in the absence of, you know, being able to go to the theatre.
Lucy Prebble is one of my favourite writers, and I think this might be my favourite of her plays so far, a sad, sexy, emotionally overpowering, intellectually intoxicating work about science, depression and love. Connie signs up for medical testing because she believes in progress, Tristan because he's short of travelling money; they fall in love − but is it love, or lust, or just the pills? And what about depression itself: is that merely a chemical reaction, or is it a response to emotional experience, an integral part of a personality? The way Prebble can make you question your preconceptions, erupt into bitter laughter, or take a sharp and painful breath feels something like genius. Few people writing today are able to provoke differing emotions with such sudden intensity (at least in me), and I'm not sure any have her facility for an unforgettable line.
I've started reading plays again, as it's a bit like going to the theatre, in the absence of, you know, being able to go to the theatre.
Lucy Prebble is one of my favourite writers, and I think this might be my favourite of her plays so far, a sad, sexy, emotionally overpowering, intellectually intoxicating work about science, depression and love. Connie signs up for medical testing because she believes in progress, Tristan because he's short of travelling money; they fall in love − but is it love, or lust, or just the pills? And what about depression itself: is that merely a chemical reaction, or is it a response to emotional experience, an integral part of a personality? The way Prebble can make you question your preconceptions, erupt into bitter laughter, or take a sharp and painful breath feels something like genius. Few people writing today are able to provoke differing emotions with such sudden intensity (at least in me), and I'm not sure any have her facility for an unforgettable line.
July 11, 2017
Although I generally don’t read plays, I picked up this one when it was recommended by a student who saw it. She thought it would be worthy of discussing in a psychology class.
Tristan and Connie are subjects in a research experiment determining the effectiveness of a new anti-depressant drug. Each are being paid for their time since the subjects will reside in the research facilities for the next month. Connie elected to do this since she is majoring in psychology. Tristan, another college student, has done similar research before is primarily doing it for the money. During the course of the experiment the two will fall in love and their intimate behaviors may jeopardize the integrity of the research design. Is their love a side effect of the anti-depressant or is it natural? Since one is on a placebo, what motivates his or her love?
I enjoyed reading this play and hope to see it in production sometime.
Tristan and Connie are subjects in a research experiment determining the effectiveness of a new anti-depressant drug. Each are being paid for their time since the subjects will reside in the research facilities for the next month. Connie elected to do this since she is majoring in psychology. Tristan, another college student, has done similar research before is primarily doing it for the money. During the course of the experiment the two will fall in love and their intimate behaviors may jeopardize the integrity of the research design. Is their love a side effect of the anti-depressant or is it natural? Since one is on a placebo, what motivates his or her love?
I enjoyed reading this play and hope to see it in production sometime.
April 24, 2022
Read this in preperation for performing as Connie in our local amateur dramatics company. Lucy Prebbles themes are so itntiguing and I like the way it creates more questions than it answers. I was excited to be cast as Connie because I connecte with her so well - she would rather surround herselves in logic, wrapped up in what other people have told her rather than explore emotions. For us there were a lot of weirdness in the writing and directions that we had to overcome and parts that were definitely there just to shock and awe. I love that all characters are flawed and it is defintely a piece to discuss with others as we all had different takes. Particularly with regards to Toby's role in the events that play out.
December 2, 2024
Connie and Tristan are volunteering for a drug trial of an antidepressant. A potential side effect of this drug is heightened dopamine levels. Is what Connie and Tristan experiencing love or a side effect of the drug. The first 30 pages being something really fascinating with psychological test that comment on what depression and love feels like with a splash of mystery of who is actually on the drug and who is on the placebo. This play quickly turns into a more run of the mill affair but still has humorous and deep moments. The ending has a very graduate feel, are they in love, was it ever love, or was it something more fleeting. (Not HS approved)
November 5, 2025
Intelligently developed as a romance and even more beautifully unravelled as a close look at mental health and how it can hold us back from true emotional liberation, Lucy Prebble's The Effect is a captivating play. Gorgeously structured to create a vision of staging and atmosphere that I've never seen so well illustrated within a stage script before, Prebble focuses on three exceptionally fascinating characters in particular, and crafts a romance between two of them that led me to immediately take a risk on the type of person I want to be (and want to be with) mere hours after reading. An inspiring, rewarding read.
Read
January 12, 2026- 'i don't think that we're depressed. i think that we are right. shit is depressing. the world is literally on fire and we're calling people ill and profiting from it'
- point about how side effects are actually just effects that aren't sellable was fantastic
- what is love?.... 'i've built a bit of my brain around you and it's important to me' ahh
- total madness like c21st take on animal magnetism by elizabeth inchbald and wow the theatre is the perfect place to watch this kind of disassociated story take place
- point about how side effects are actually just effects that aren't sellable was fantastic
- what is love?.... 'i've built a bit of my brain around you and it's important to me' ahh
- total madness like c21st take on animal magnetism by elizabeth inchbald and wow the theatre is the perfect place to watch this kind of disassociated story take place
January 11, 2018
I really enjoyed the whole aspect of questioning whether or not love is just a chemical reaction or if it's more through the platform of a play. I also really enjoyed the relationship dynamics and developments between Connie & Tristan, and Lorna & Toby (although Lorna & Toby's relationship was not as developed as I'd prefer). I also did not expect all the drama! This made the play much more interesting that I anticipated. Definite 4 stars from me.
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