The Effect cast

Casting announced for Lucy Prebble's The Effect at the Boulevard Theatre

Will Longman
Will Longman

Casting has been announced for the upcoming revival of Lucy Prebble's The Effect, which is set to be directed by Anthony Nielson at the Boulevard Theatre next month.

It is the first time the play - which premiered at the National Theatre in 2012 - has been revived in London, and sees two paid subjects of a psychology experiment who fall in love while they are closely monitored.

The play will star Kate O'Flynn, who is currently starring in all of it at the Royal Court and is known for her performances in Anatomy of a Suicide and The End of History, and Eric Kofi Abrefa, whose stage work includes Julie at the National Theatre and Jurassic World. Both Abrefa and O'Flynn starred in A Taste of Honey at the National Theatre in 2014.

They will be joined by Christine Entwisle, known for her appearances in The Twits, Hope and Primetime at the Royal Court as well as several productions at the RSC, and Tim McMullan, who has starred in Antony & Cleopatra, Common and Twelfth Night, and also appeared in the Bishop of Worcester Robin Woods in Netflix series The Crown.

Anthony Neilson directs. His recent plays include the horror play The Tell-Tale Heart at the National Theatre, and Unreachable starring Matt Smith at the Royal Court.

Earlier this week, Prebble, who wrote the hit play Enron and TV series Secret Diary of a Call Girl,  won the Critics' Circle Award for best play for her latest, A Very Expensive Poison, which premiered at the Old Vic last year.

The play's creative team includes designer Natasha Jenkins, lighting designer Nigel Edwards and sound designer Helen Skiera.

The Effect is at the Boulevard Theatre from 19th March to 30th May.

Originally published on

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