The Effect
1h 40m, no intermission
The Effect - 2024 Off-Broadway History , Info & More
The Shed
West 30th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues New York, NY
As clinical drug trial participants Connie and Tristan explore their attraction to each other, how can they be sure it’s the real thing and not an exhilarating side effect of the new antidepressant they’re taking? The supervising doctors begin to ask themselves questions too: where do they draw the line between love and ethics?
The Effect - 2024 - Off-Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR The Effect
The Effect Review. Is love real?
4 / 10
A regular laboratory for clinical trials is itself an artificial setting, as is the relationship between researcher and subject, so perhaps there’s an analogy at work here that explains the brutally artificial staging. The stage pictures can certainly be arresting. But it’s a conceptual imposition, which paradoxically keeps intellectual engagement secondary, at best. Director Jamie Lloyd’s last gig in New York, last year’s production of “A Doll’s House” on Broadway starring Jessica Chastain, was also devoid of props and of a realistic set, and also imposed a heavy-handed directorial conceit: The actors rarely stood up from their chairs. Lloyd clearly has a preferred aesthetic – call it minimalist chic – which others have praised as removing distractions so that the audience can focus on what matters. But what matters in a play? Is it only the theatrical effect?
THE EFFECT: A PLAY ABOUT A SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT THAT FEELS LIKE ONE
5 / 10
Lloyd only emphasizes the play’s weaknesses with his sterile production that makes you feel like you’re observing lab rats from a distance. The actors’ voices are loudly amplified, making even their most intimate dialogue sound ring announcements at a boxing match. The sound and lighting effects, including portions of the stage floor lighting up strategically, are so emphatic that you expect a white-suited John Travolta to strut onto the stage and dance. You get the feeling that if the director had his way, he’d be wiring up audience members with sensors to gauge their reactions.
by A.A. Cristi - March 13, 2024
The exclusive U.S. presentation of a new production of The Effect, the acclaimed play examining love and ethics by Lucy Prebble and directed by Jamie Lloyd opens tonight! Read the reviews!
by Chloe Rabinowitz - March 1, 2024
Previews begin on Sunday, March 3 for the exclusive U.S. presentation of a new production of The Effect. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.
The Effect History
Other Productions of The Effect
| 2012 | West End |
Headlong Theater/The National Theater Co-Production West End |
| 2016 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Barrow Street Production Off-Broadway |
| 2024 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
The Effect - 2024 Off-Broadway Awards and Nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music in a Play | Michael “Mikey J” Asante |
| 2024 | Drama League Awards | Disinguished Performance | Paapa Essiedu |
| 2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Jamie Lloyd |
| 2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | The Effect |
Videos