Lucy Prebbles’s 2012 play, “The Effect,” has made its way back to the stage, with a sleeker-than-ever environment. The play in itself already carries intensity through its focus on love, psychiatry, and the crossovers between the two. However, director Jamie Lloyd has added a new level of intensity to the viewing experience through unconventional theatrical forms.
Upon entering The Shed’s theater space, audience members are submerged into a dystopian ambiance – low blue lighting and loud synthy music. Once the play begins, there is more synth, strobe lights, fog machines and the stage itself lights up from below. The overall environment felt almost more akin to a fashion show, with audience members on either side of the slim, rectangular stage, glaring down at a platform that remains almost completely free from props the entire show.
The star-studded cast is enough to grab and keep the attention of viewers. Taylor Russell, known for her titular role in the 2022 film, “Bones and All,” is seamlessly paired with Paapa Essiedu, known for the 2020 TV series, “I May Destroy You.” Russell plays Connie, a seemingly level-headed psychology student, while Essiedu portrays Tristan, an eccentric and rebellious character. The two performances have an incredible push and pull balanced by their differences, and mirrored by the push and pull of the play’s only other two characters, Dr. Lorna James (Michele Austin) and Dr. Toby Sealey (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith).
The play follows a psychiatric drug trial, testing the effectiveness of an antidepressant. However, things get messy when romantic entanglements get thrown into the mix, amongst both the subjects and the doctors. “The Effect” begs the question; what makes love real? Is knowing that someone makes you happy enough to prove you are in love? Or do our brain chemicals slip up, allowing us to situationally fall in love with someone, only to later be repulsed?
Similarly, as an audience member, I found myself wondering if the play got to me because the writing was effective enough to hit a nerve, or if it was my body reacting to the intense setting and ambiance. It was, for sure, a full-body viewing experience, and it kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. The show is also filled with twists and turns, and it goes to unexpected places with each character.
Overall, “The Effect” is bound to make waves in the theater world, setting an example for new ways to use modern technology to transform theater spaces. The story pushes the boundaries of how we talk about mental health on the stage, and it succeeds in going down a nuanced path regarding current understandings of psychiatric drugs.
See “The Effect” at The Shed through March 31st. Buy tickets online HERE.
