Connie is a beautiful psychology student. Tristan is a charming slacker. They are both “guinea pigs” in a clinical experiment for a new “super-drug”. Sealed off from the real world and monitored by two bickering doctors, the attraction between Connie and Tristan becomes increasingly intense, passionate and out of control, even as their daily dosage of the drug gets stronger. Is this a chemical romance – a side effect of the drug? Or is it “the real thing”? A brilliant examination of the human brain via the heart, The Effect explores questions of sanity, the ethical minefield of neuroscience, today’s pill-popping culture, and the very nature of this thing we call “LOVE”.
The Effect premiered to great acclaim at London’s National Theatre in 2012, winning the UK Critic’s Circle Award for Best New Play.