The Effect
by Lucy Prebble
in association with The Jamie Lloyd Company
Booking and details
This production played in the Lyttelton Theatre from 1 August to 7 October 2023.
Who I am
Is not
A side effect.
Hearts and minds racing, Connie and Tristan are falling for each other fast. But is their sudden and intoxicating chemistry real, or a side effect of a new antidepressant?
As two young volunteers in a clinical drug trial, their illicit romance poses startling dilemmas for the supervising doctors.
Lucy Prebble’s (Succession) critically acclaimed play returns to the National Theatre in a bold new production directed by Jamie Lloyd (Cyrano de Bergerac).
Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You) is joined by Taylor Russell (Bones and All) in this funny and intimate examination of love and ethics.
Performed 1 August — 7 October 2023 in the Lyttelton Theatre.
★★★★★
‘Glorious’
Mail on Sunday
★★★★★
‘Tender, thrilling and elegantly brutal’
The Stage
★★★★★
‘Acting of the highest calibre. Utterly compelling.’
WhatsOnStage
★★★★★
‘Theatre at its finest’
Gay Times
★★★★
‘A stellar cast. Intense and intoxicating’
Guardian
★★★★
‘Lloyd is the most exciting director working today’
Evening Standard
★★★★
‘Lucy Prebble’s lab trial drama fires the synapses’
Independent
★★★★
‘Jamie Lloyd’s exhilarating production. Dazzling.’
Sunday Times
★★★★
‘Lucy Prebble’s greatest play in a fiery production’
Daily Telegraph
★★★★
‘Jamie Lloyd’s superbly performed, stylised production’
Daily Mail
★★★★
‘Unfailingly exciting’
Observer
Nominated for the Olivier Awards 2024:
- Best Revival
Suitability
Please note: This production contains strong language and adult themes. There are strobe/flashing lights, smoke and haze effects, with some loud music.
Some scenes include sexual content, physical aggression, depictions of seizures and references to depression, anxiety and suicide.
If you are likely to be affected by these themes during your visit or have concerns regarding readmittance, please speak to our Front of House team for extra support.
You may also find the following resources useful before and after your visit:
Gallery
Production images
In rehearsal
Cast
Michele Austin
For the National: The Effect and Manor
Shereener Browne
For the National Theatre: The Importance of Being Earnest and The Effect
Paapa Essiedu
For the National: The Effect, Bent and King Lear
Valentine Hanson
For the National Theatre: The Grapes of Wrath and The Effect
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
For the National Theatre: Coriolanus, The Effect (also The Shed, New York), Edward II, NT 50 Years on Stage, Antigone and Death and the King’s Horseman
Mara Huf
For the National: The Effect
Joseph Langdon
For the National: The Effect
Taylor Russell
For the National: The Effect
Production team
Writer
Lucy Prebble
Lucy Prebble
Lucy Prebble is a writer for film, television, games and theatre.
Director
Set and Costume Designer
Soutra Gilmour
Soutra Gilmour
For the National: The Effect, Twelfth Night, Les Blancs, Romeo and Juliet (also for Sky Arts) and My Brilliant Friend for (also at the Rose, Kingston)
Lighting Designer
Jon Clark
Jon Clark
For the National Theatre: Dear England (2025, 2023, in the West End and UK tour), The Importance of Being Earnest, The Effect (also The Shed, NY), The Motive and the Cue (also West End), The Lehman Trilogy (also Broadway, West End and international tour), Manor, Absolute Hell, Amadeus, As You Like It, The Beaux Stratagem, Hamlet, Othello, The Effect (2012), Collaborators, A Woman Killed with Kindness, Greenland, Pains of Youth, Our Class, Damned by Despair, Women of Troy, The Cat in the Hat, Beauty and the Beast and Hansel and Gretel
Composer
Michael 'Mikey J' Asante
Michael 'Mikey J' Asante
Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante is a producer, composer, singer, dancer and DJ.
Sound Designer
George Dennis
George Dennis
For the National Theatre: Alterations, The Effect, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Nine Night (also in the West End) and An Octoroon (also at the Orange Tree)
Movement Directors
Sarah Golding & Yukiko Masui (SAY)
Sarah Golding & Yukiko Masui (SAY)
SAY was founded by Sarah Golding and Yukiko Masui in 2019.
Fight Director
Kate Waters
Kate Waters
For the National Theatre: Alterations, The Grapes of Wrath, Much Ado About Nothing, Small Island, Salomé, The Plough and the Stars, Othello, As You Like It, Rules for Living, Our Country’s Good, Dara, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (also West End) and War Horse (also West End)
Intimacy Coordinator
Ingrid Mackinnon
Ingrid Mackinnon
For the National Theatre: The Importance of Being Earnest, Coriolanus, Underdog: The Other Other Brontë (also Northern Stage), The House of Bernarda Alba, The Effect (also The Shed, New York) and Phaedra
Casting Director
Alastair Coomer CDG
Alastair Coomer CDG
For the National Theatre: over 50 productions including Alterations, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Other Place, The Grapes of Wrath, Mnemonic (2024), Nye (also Wales Millennium Centre), The House of Bernarda Alba, Othello, The Crucible (also West End), Blues for an Alabama Sky, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Mosquitoes, This House, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, One Man, Two Guvnors and War Horse
Staff Director
Photography (Paapa Esseidu and Taylor Russell) by Johnny Ho.
Photo of Taylor Russell by Julian Ungano