Review: The Effect, National Theatre

Stripped back with a traverse stage, Jamie Lloyd's take on the revival of Lucy Prebble's The Effect is slick and unsettling. From the writer of TV shows I Hate Suzie and Succession, it is no surprise that Prebble's production features comical quips and easy, believable dialogue, making it a well-used text in the A Level classroom. It is a production that lends itself well to unpacking with students, providing teachers with the chance to explore four complex characters that grow and change with minimal set or design features getting in the way.

With smooth direction, no props or set pieces and flashing lights suspended above the open led-lit floor, Prebble herself described the new productions as ‘a gig meets autopsy’. The traverse stage amplifies a sense of being watched as one can physically see other members of the public opposite themselves.