The Effect By Lucy Prebble at Old Red Lion Playhouse until 11 July

‘a really interesting and absorbing night in the theatre’ ★★★★

“Medical science makes us all live longer but it takes no responsibility for the fact that we have to be married longer.” Dr Sealey in The Effect.

Lucy Prebble is one of the best of Britain’s new playwrights, and one can imagine her work enduring. The Effect shows exactly why: an interesting story, told well, with real three dimensional people at its heart. It began life at the National Theatre in 2012, and is now getting a stripped-down production for a small theatre space at the Old Red Lion, right by Angel tube station.

It’s about a clinical trial of a drug designed to cure depression, and Ms Prebble treads sure-footedly through the minefield of opinions, passions and vested interests this subject lays in her path.

Two volunteers, Connie and Tristan, are thrown together; one is given the drug, the other is given a placebo. The doctors then watch to see what will happen, rather in the spirit that they might watch chimpanzees at the zoo. This being a play, what happens is that Tristan and Connie fall in love.

The female doctor charged with overseeing the experiment tries to control the situation. “You’re not allowed sexual activity” she says at one point, to no avail. Her male boss is much more interested in learning from it, and shows – the author clearly feels – insufficient care for the well-being of his guinea pigs.

The situation is complicated by the fact that the two doctors themselves were an item some years previously, and parted messily. The scene in which this is conveyed to the audience is a model of how it should be done. Neither character tells us the affair happened, but the awkward way they talk to each other tells is everything we need to know.

Director Sam Edmunds has given this well structured play a new look, with almost no scenery, and a stage dominated by two beds. It works well: the dialogue and the actors are quite good enough to help us to suspend disbelief, and the play lends itself to being performed in an intimate space.

Edmunds has chosen four excellent actors. Standout for me would be Millie Smith as Connie, all nerves and innocence at first. Shadrach Agozino’s Tristan is an excellent foil for her. Sara Odeen-Isbister cleverly conveys the turmoil beneath the carapace of efficient and detached professionalism, and Andrew Pearson-Wright is gruesomely self-satisfied as her boss. 

If I had a niggle about the acting, it’s that both the men have a tendency to shout too much, and too loudly for the tiny theatre space they are working in. And if I had a niggle about the direction, it’s a spotlight they occasionally turn on the audience. It hurt my eyes, and stopped me seeing the actors. I’ve  never understood why some directors torment their audience in this way. 

Still, this is a really interesting and absorbing night in the theatre, well worth a couple of hours of your time.

THE EFFECT at Old Red Lion Playhouse 30 June - 11 July 2026

BOX OFFICE https://weareoldred.co.uk/whats-on/the-effect/

CAST
Connie Hall: Millie Smith  
Tristan Frey: Shadrach Agozino 
Dr Lorna James: Sara Odeen-Isbister
Dr Toby Sealey: Andrew Pearson-Wright 

PRODUCTION & CREATIVE TEAM
Director: Sam Edmunds 
Producer: Sara Odeen-Isbister   
Assistant Producer / Stage Manager: Niamh Grace
Movement Director / Intimacy Coordinator: Jess Tucker Boyd  
Set Design: Rob Miles 
Lighting Design: Sam Edmunds  
Sound Design: Gabriel Burns   
Tech Operator: Ryan Kingsbury
Graphic Design: Tom Murch 
Photography: Ali Wright