The Effect

“As in Enron, Prebble writes with a really impressive command of complex ideas, and her mix of the personal and the political is here nearly perfect… The result is humane and compelling… intensive, stimulating and moving… what might well be the best new play of the year.” – Aleks Sierz, Arts Desk

“Lucy Prebble is a playwright blessed with an exceptionally fine mind ... the play struck me as being both wise and sane, raising more questions than it answers, to be sure, but that seems a sign of integrity in a work dealing with such a complex subject. But what makes The Effect so special, is that as well as being a play of ideas, it is also deeply moving, both in its depiction of the giddy wonder of love, and also in its account of the terrifying wasteland of depression itself ... The Effect is an astonishingly rich and rewarding play, as intelligent as it is deeply felt.” – Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph

“Prebble has written a profound and stirring play. The material is complex but always accessible, the drama serious and informative yet deeply human, with the odd jolt of piercing humour. The Effect confirms her as one of the most intelligent voices in British theatre.” – Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard

“Lucy Prebble’s follow-up to Enron is a scintillating exploration of the clash between scientific advance and human impulse… it demonstrates the same vivid, provocative intelligence.” – Sarah Hemming, Financial Times

“This four-hander brings the author's agile wit, intellectual penetration and a fresh, deeply affecting empathy to bear on a fundamentally much more complex topic than finance: brain chemistry and what it can – and cannot – tell us about the causes of severe depression and the experience of being in love… This is a provocative and challenging play… it ends in edgy gesture of good sense that made me feel like cheering.” – Paul Taylor, Independent

“Incisive dialogue... Prebble really researches and the range of her subjects suggests she will have a long theatrical life.” – Susannah Clapp, Observer

“After her hit with Enron, Lucy Prebble turns to medicine and the mind – to great effect... The Effect is a four-hander that hopscotches confidently across themes of neurology, psychopharmacology, depression, love and guilt... The Effect moves you to thought, sometimes to strong feeling.” –  Mazie Szalwinska, The Sunday Times

“The Effect is a headlong delve into the mysteries of the human brain. And Prebble pulls it off with assurance, tickling our cerebellums in the first half, before tugging on our heartstrings in the second... heartbreaking... [it has] a heart as well as a brain.” –  Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out