The Effect (2024) Play Review – In The Pursuit Of Anti Depressants, A Love Drug May Have Been Made

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Summary

In England, Dr. Toby Sealey is working on a new anti-depressant drug with a colleague and former partner, Dr. Lorna James. She is handling the day-to-day while he checks in on the progress of his latest attempt to break into the pharmaceutical market.

This time, his clinical trial, taking place over multiple weeks with the members in seclusion, includes Connie and Tristan. Both are college-aged, with Connie in college and Tristan taking a gap year. But what none of the four may have expected is how these short few weeks will drastically change the rest of their lives.

Other Noteworthy Information

1. Notes on “The Shed” as a Venue: Comfortable seating, quick process to get in, and while they say it starts at the scheduled time sharp – people were still being let in, so that might be a little more flexible than what’s noted. However, I did go to the first performance, and it is in previews, so that should be considered a factor.

Characters and Cast

Character’s Name	Actor’s Name
Dr. Toby Sealey	Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Connie	Taylor Russell
Tristan	Paapa Essiedu
Dr. Lorna James	Michele Austin

Character Descriptions

Please Note: This character guide is not an exhaustive list of every cast member, and character descriptions may contain what can be considered spoilers.

Dr. Toby Sealey

The son of a Nigerian surgeon, Dr. Sealey has worked hard to prove himself in the psychology field, and with this new drug, he hopes to break through, work on his first book, and be firmly able to justify not following in his father’s footsteps.

• The actor is also known for their role in “Accused: Season 1/ Episode 4.”

Connie

A Canadian dating a man, likely 20 years her senior, a professor who didn’t provide instruction for her, Connie is going through a lot right now. She is considering getting a visa to move to England since her partner is from there, as is his former family. Also, she is high-strung, and so when the drugs kick in, it sends her on a roller coaster of emotions that force her out of her comfort zone and into the unknown.

• The actor is also known for their role in “Words on Bathroom Walls.”

Tristan

Tristan is a regular guy. He enjoys a good party, to dance when no one is watching, is flirty, and has experimented with drugs in the past. Nothing hard; he would more so be the type to smoke weed than do anything that creates a notable addiction.

As for what’s going on in his life? Nothing really. He is on a gap year that is becoming multiple years, and to fill up his time and put money in his pockets, he does drug trials.

• The actor is also known for their role in “Genie.”

Dr. Lorna James

Dr. James is the moral compass of the experiment, manages the day-to-day issuance of the drug, and handles the documentation via sessions with participants. She has had some challenges in life, relationships, with her own mental health, and even has a complicated affiliation, or former connection, with Dr. Sealey.

Yet, despite past troubles, Dr. James is the one who steers this ship and tries her best to manage the highs and lows of Tristan and Connie as they go on a journey neither may have been prepared to handle.

Review

Good If You Like

• Young Adult Romance
• Plays about the medicinal industry
• Plays with a small cast

Similar To This

1. Five Feet Apart (Movie): If you want a love story featuring young people in a hospital
2. The Coast Starlight (Play): For those who enjoy a good “Will they or won’t they” romance featuring a small cast stuck in one location
3. Conversations After Sex (Play): If you enjoy watching two people form an intimate cocoon where they can open up and be flawed together.

Check out our Live Performance page for our latest reviews and recommendations.

Notable Performances or Moments

The Choreography & Staging

With a stage with the audience on both sides, it’s important to make sure no one feels like they have a bad seat and their perspective allows them to feel they get something the other side doesn’t. For the most part, this is accomplished regarding the movement, but what needs to be highlighted is how the stage is used.

Whether it is Connie dancing ballet, changing positions with Tristan during an intimate moment in the dark, with the light blaring when they are doing something different, or presenting the idea we’re watching things in a slide projector with video capabilities, the movements of the play are notable. Especially considering some are done in the dark with little time to switch things up.  

Highlights

Lorna And Toby Aren’t Lost Or Forgotten

It is just to think Lorna and Toby would be the adults in the room, with Connie and Tristan being the stars, and you’d be mistaken to think that. While Toby doesn’t present himself as more than a man seeking his father’s approval and trying to reinvent himself as he starts a new experiment and new family, Lorna has the kind of depths that make Michele Austin a potential breakout for the play.

Why? Because Lorna gets to be more than what the play advertises. She isn’t some 20-something flirting and seemingly is dealing with a redux of falling in love for the first time and the intensity of it. Lorna is as much an authority figure as someone who has been through love and is also dealing with the push and pull of a life that can be fulfilling but doesn’t always feel that way.

There is one moment in particular, within the last 15 or 20 minutes, where Lorna explains how her depression and struggles operate in her head, and it is devastating. Heck, it felt a little too real and close to home to the point. I do believe if this entire play was about Lorna’s journey, I would have left the theater in tears.

The Chaotic Romance

At the core of “The Effect” is the romance, which starts complicated because Connie is in a relationship. However, as you watch Tristan flirt with her, make her laugh, and then she flips it by reciprocating while noting that laughter is just a means of appearing submissive, things get cute and fun. Mind you, that is when the dosages are low, and they get a bit weird as things get higher.

Yet, even as Connie questions her feelings and Tristan believes with his whole heart he has fallen in love, you never give up on the idea of these two. There is too much of a push and pull between them, the idea they could challenge and better one another, that makes it so even when both are at their most chaotic, mainly due to either the drugs or their feelings, you refuse to give up on them.

The Music

The industrial rock that plays throughout “The Effect” may make you wish plays had soundtracks. To not rock back and forth as the instrumentals go can be difficult, especially if you are someone familiar or a fan of the music of Nine Inch Nails and the era when they were at their height.

On The Fence

Occasional Opportunities To Forget Or Question Lorna And Toby’s Relationship

Regarding weak points, the only thing I find myself admitting could have been better is the development of Lorna and Toby’s relationship. As noted above, Toby isn’t necessarily the strongest character in “The Effect” regarding how he is written. So while he does get the chance to monologue about his relationship with his father and have conversations with Lorna about his new relationship, the experiment, and the effects Connie and Tristan are going through, what he and Lorna have can be a bit fuzzy.

Is this a major issue? No. However, as time passes and Lorna questions why she was chosen for this experiment, it makes you ask the same question, and the vagueness of Toby and Lorna’s relationship gets pushed to the forefront of your mind. Never to the point of losing the plot, but making you wish their past and present connection was better developed.

Background Information

Director(s)	Jamie Lloyd
Writer(s)	Lucy Prebble
Language	English
Attendance Type	In Person
Event Status	On Schedule
Venue or Network (The Shed’s Griffin Theater)	545 W 30th St, New York, NY 10001
Performance Date	March 3, 2024
First Performance At This Venue	March 3, 2024
Opening Night Performance	March 14, 2024
Last Performance At This Venue	March 31, 2024
Venue URL	https://at.theshed.org/program/392-the-effect
Tickets Starting At	$99.00
Genre(s)	Play, Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Young Adult, Drama
Duration	1 Hours 40 Minutes
Content Information	Dialog: Cursing (Occasional) | Violence: Domestic Dispute | Sexual Content: Implied (sometimes jokingly) | Miscellaneous: Drug Use (Implied)

Crew

Scene/ Set Design	Soutra Gilmour
Costume Design	Soutra Gilmour
Lighting Design	Jon Clark
Sound Design	George Dennis
Choreography	Kate Waters, Sarah Golding, Yukiko Masui

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