THE EFFECT

SOLD OUT

'An astonishingly rich and rewarding play, as intelligent as it is deeply felt.'
Daily Telegraph (UK)

Sydney Theatre Company and Commonwealth Bank present
a Sydney Theatre Company and Queensland Theatre Company production

THE EFFECT

By Lucy Prebble

All the symptoms of real love

Connie is a psychology student. Tristan is a charming drifter. Both have signed up to a clinical trial for a new antidepressant super-drug. Sealed off from the outside world, the attraction between Connie and Tristan turns into deeper feelings as their doses get stronger. They've been warned of side effects - can they trust their feelings, or is this just a chemical romance?

As the trial's overseeing physician and her superior contend with the illicit relationship of their charges, they become increasingly conflicted about the ethical implications of their work. It's soon clear they have a past beyond the laboratory, and neither is objective about the complex issues that surround them.

The Effect premiered to great acclaim at London's National Theatre in late 2012 winning the UK Critic's Circle Award for Best New Play for young playwright Lucy Prebble, author of the West End hit Enron and TV's Secret Diary of a Call Girl. In her smash hit new work, Prebble deftly explores questions of sanity, the ethical minefield of neuroscience and the limits of medicine in today's pill-popping culture.

Sarah Goodes directs a superb cast featuring rising stars Anna McGahan (House Husbands and Underbelly: Razor) and Mark Leonard Winter (Healing), alongside STC favourite and AFI Award-winner Angie Milliken and esteemed Queensland Theatre Company veteran Eugene Gilfedder.

With warmth, humour and intelligence, this timely and provocative play is guaranteed to keep you debating long after the lights come up.

Duration: 2 hours 30 mins (including interval)
Warning: contains strong language, nudity and sexual references