4 & 5 star reviews for Lucy Prebble’s The Effect

The new play by Lucy Prebble, The Effect, has opened at the National Theatre to rave reviews. Directed by Rupert Goold, who also directed her previous hit Enron, the play was lit by Performing Arts client Jon Clark.

‘The Effect is an astonishingly rich and rewarding play, as intelligent as it is deeply felt.’ concluded Charles Spencer who gave it 5 stars in the Daily Telegraph, saying that the setting in a swish private clinic was ‘brilliantly realised’.

Henry Hitchings in the Evening Standard also rated it 5 stars, saying: ‘Rupert Goold’s thoughtful production is lit up by scintillating performances’, notably leads Billie Piper and Jonjo O’Neill who are ‘thrillingly good’.

The review by Michael Billington in the Guardian (4 stars) praised it as ‘beautifully staged’ and ‘a palpably intelligent [play] that proves Enron was not a flash in the pan’, while the Independent(4 stars) thought it was ‘Searingly well-performed in Goold’s co-production with Headlong’.

If you haven’t already booked, you may have to queue for day tickets or returns, as it is largely sold out.