Saturday, March 24, 2018

Saturday Night Radio Drama - Lucy Prebble - The Effect


Award-winning chemical romance - "I can tell the difference between who I am and a side effect." Connie and Tristan are taking part in a clinical trial for a new psychoactive drug. So when they start to feel attracted to each other, can they really trust how they feel?

A profound, and funny, play about love, depression and selfhood, winner of the Critics' Circle Award for Best New Play when it was performed at the National Theatre in 2012.

Dr Lorna James .... Christine Entwisle
Connie .... Jessie Buckley
Tristan .... Damien Molony
Dr Toby Sealey .... Samuel West

Composer, Richard Hammarton
Director, Abigail le Fleming

THE WRITER
Lucy Prebble is a writer for film, television, games and theatre. Before THE EFFECT she wrote the hugely successful ENRON (2010). Her first play, THE SUGAR SYNDROME (2003), won her the George Devine Award and was performed at the Royal Court.
Lucy is an Associate Artist at the Old Vic Theatre.
For television, she is the creator of the TV series SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL. She is Co-Executive Producer and writer on HBO's media mogul drama, SUCCESSION. 

THE COMPOSER
Richard Hammarton is a composer and sound designer for Theatre, TV and Film. His work has been heard throughout the UK and Internationally. He was part of the design team that won the Manchester Evening News "Best Design" award for DR FAUSTUS in 2010 and was Sound Designer for the Olivier Award winning play, THE MOUNTAINTOP. He also worked on the Ivor Novello winning RIPPER STREET for TV.

The play raises the issue of how we can be talked out of trusting our own perceptions. 

It reminds me of the time a member of a psychological cult,  I think it was "est," told someone that their program would make they happy.  When they said they were already happy, the estie, or whoever, told them they only thought they were happy.   To which the question is what is the difference between thinking you're happy and being happy.  And, more so, how are you supposed to know if there is one. 

Sometimes I think talking people out of trusting their own experience is one of the worst general effects of such pseudo-science. 

Pretty effective use of music-sound in this one, I thought.

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