The Effect 2012 National Theatre

Review - 'The Effect' at National Theatre 2012

What the popular press had to say...

"It's an absorbing, if slightly diagrammatic, drama immaculately directed by Rupert Goold...It's not a flawless play, but it's a palpably intelligent one "
Michael Billington for The Guardian

"The play digs deeply and provocatively into the mysteries of the mind, and also examines the nature of depressive illness...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 for The Daily Telegraph

"Goold directs with clarity and wit, eliciting acting that is boldly physical yet also often achingly delicate...a profound and stirring play."
Henry Hitchings for The Evening Standard

"Searingly well-performed in Goold's co-production with Headlong and choreographed in a manner that is tinglingly alert to the fierce emotional geometries of the piece, 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."
Paul Taylor for The Independent

Originally published on

Subscribe to our newsletter to unlock exclusive London theatre updates!

Special offers, reviews and release dates for the best shows in town.

You can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy