The Effect
The Effect is a play by Lucy Prebble about Connie and Tristan, two people who sign up for a clinical drug trial and fall in love. Their romance disrupts the trial, and the couple wonder whether their feelings come from love or the drug’s brain chemistry.
It premiered in London in 2012 at the National Theatre’s Cottesloe Theatre, directed by Rupert Goold, with Billie Piper as Connie and Jonjo O’Neill as Tristan. A revival opened in 2023 at the National’s Lyttelton Theatre and later moved to The Shed in New York City in 2024. A London revival planned for 2020 was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. An additional revival occurred in 2025 at the OnStage Playhouse.
Critics praised the play for its smart, thoughtful look at love and mental health. It was lauded as both intelligent and deeply moving, offering a provocative mix of ideas and emotion.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 09:03 (CET).