The Effect (National Theatre) London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (32)
See it if One of the best play of this year cleverly written
Don't see it if intense subjects regarding therapy and medication aren't your thing
See it if you like well-written, gripping theater that's both intellectually and emotionally stimulating, with exceptional cast and outstanding design
Don't see it if you don't like slick lighting effects & loud music, it might feel a little alienating and distancing at times, but I felt it added urgency.
See it if Sharp, witty exploration of love and relationships, and the ethics of medicine trials. Lucy Prebble’s script performed exceptionally by cast
Don't see it if You’re looking for something realistic, this is about the central relationships not the nature of the drug trials
See it if you want a journey home discussion re morals & ethics. Very funny realistic & natural dialogue. One story gradually focuses on to another.
Don't see it if you don’t want to explore themes of relationships &/or mental health.
See it if you’d like a play that makes you feel and think. If you are interested in mind and science. If you like a cleverly written text played well.
Don't see it if you have difficulties with depression related with relationships. If you prefer physically or visually entertaining theatres than wordy ones
See it if You are like me reading the premise and instantly knowing that this is gonna be right down your alley. It makes you think even after the end
Don't see it if You can't sit on uncomfortable seats for 2 hours, they have gone for a traverse stage instead of the typical proscenium at Lyttleton Read more
See it if you want to see a well-acted, well-staged and riveting play that cleverly explores what is and is not real when chemicals are involved.
Don't see it if you want an accurate picture of medical trial protocol. I went with someone in the industry and they could point out many inconsistencies. Read more
See it if You want to see some excellent actors doing excellent acing
Don't see it if You get irritated by writing and are waiting for a set Read more
Critic Reviews (11)
“A... theatrical dissonance renders the ending underwhelming and the production more interesting than entertaining. But despite its imperfections the decision to revive ‘The Effect’ is a laudable one.”
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“A play of ideas about the way our brains work is welded to a ruthless 100-minute emotional arc, laced with wit and given a bittersweet ending. It receives a typically stark, urgent production from Jamie Lloyd which left me impressed and stimulated but also weirdly flat.”
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“In a play that turns on the question of how much emotions can be manipulated by medication, the director’s sleight of hand makes you even more aware of the script’s schematic structure, not to mention its implausible aspects.”
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“ ‘The Effect’ makes you realise just how much theatre has missed [Lucy Prebble’s] razor-sharp writing, her willingness to play with form to tackle huge subjects in a small space...Part of the power of the play is that it raises as many questions as it answers, and values emotion just as much as debate.”
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“It all adds up to a thoroughly theatrical experience, one in which you’re hyper-aware of the show’s liveness: what’s happening on stage, and how you’re responding to it in the moment – or even contributing yourself. Thrillingly effective.”
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"The preoccupation here is nothing less existentially weighty than free will and the human condition, yet both play and production are as effortlessly deft as they are astute. It’s the kind of theatre that lives with you, turning over in the mind long after the experiment ends."
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“Lucy Prebble’s 2012 play – revived at the National Theatre in a flashy Jamie Lloyd production – perceptively shows that when it comes to mental health, we’re all still fumbling around in the dark, like medieval physicians who’ve dropped their tallow candles.”
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“It tantalisingly asks many more questions than it answers. Food for the brain in the bucket, not so nourishing for the heart. Although it’s a bit too long, and although it doesn’t match the greatness of much that has come since, I still love Lucy.”
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