Lucy Prebble's THE EFFECT to Open The Ensemble Company 2026 Season

The Ensemble Company, the repertory theatre company in residence at Imagine Performing Arts Center, will begin its eighth season with Lucy Prebble’s play, The Effect. 

Two young volunteers, Tristan and Connie, agree to take part in a clinical drug trial. Succumbing to the gravitational pull of attraction and love, however, Tristan and Connie manage to throw the trial off-course, much to the frustration of the clinicians involved. This funny, moving and perhaps surprisingly human play explores questions of sanity, neurology and the limits of medicine, alongside ideas of fate, loyalty and the inevitability of physical attraction.

The Effect premiered at The National Theatre’s Cottesloe Theatre in November 2012.  Co-produced by Headlong and directed by Rupert Goold, the production featured Billie Piper, Jonjo O’Neill, Anastasia Hille, and Tom Goodman-Hill. The piece was revived at the Lyttelton Theatre in London in 2023 starring Taylor Russell, Paapa Essiedu, Michele Austin, and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. That production, directed by Jamie Lloyd, transferred to The Shed in New York City.

The Ensemble Company’s production of The Effect will be directed by associate artistic director Gabriel Garcia (Red, Bernarda Alba, Meteor Shower) and star Ensemble Company veterans Jessica Hamilton (Appropriate, The Thanksgiving Play, Frozen) as Dr. Lorna James, David Lowe (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, It’s Only A Play, Long Day’s Journey Into Night) as Dr. Toby Sealey, and Laura Powalisz (Bernarda Alba) as Connie Hall.  Kyle Meehan makes his Ensemble Company debut as Tristan Frey.  Justin Jacobson serves as production stage manager.

Jacksonville Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (Acrosstown Repertory Theatre)

11.3% of votes

2. SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (Amelia Community Theater)

8.9% of votes

3. HAIRSPRAY (Limelight Theatre)

8.2% of votes

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