"The Effect" - by Lucy Prebble - Worcester County Light Opera Company (Worcester, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: James Stergios as "Tristan Frey" in a scene from Lucy Prebble's "THE EFFECT" now playing at Worcester County Light Opera Company in Worcester, MA. through October 25, 2026. Photo Credit: Amy Mae Photography)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
“In most cases being aware of your own bias doesn’t actually mean you can effect that bias.”
- ("Dr. James") / Lucy Prebble
Worcester County Light Opera Company
Presents Lucy Prebble's
"THE EFFECT"
Written by Lucy Prebble
Directed by Kaci Kneeland
Producers Kait Doig, Peter Russo
Cast Includes: Sara Yaqouti as "Connie Hall," James Stergios as "Tristan Frey," Meghan Trask as "Dr. Lorna James," Paul Di Domenico as "Dr. Toby Sealey."
Additional Creative Team:
Stage Manager - Rob Lynds; Intimacy Coordinator - Kat McCrackin; Set Design, Construction/Projection and Sound Design - Kaci Kneeland; Set Construction - Scott Kneeland; Lighting Design - Kevin McDonough; Costume Design - Angela Foley; Prop Design - Delaney DeNorscia; Electrician - John Stoffel.
Performances:
October 16, 2026 through October 25, 2026
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
WORCESTER COUNTY LIGHT OPERA COMPANY (WCLOC), Grandview Ave. Playhouse, 21 Grandview Avenue, Worcester, MA.
TICKETS:
For tickets or more information call WCLOC at # 508-753-4383 or visit www.wcloc.org
BUY TICKETS
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.
(Warning: The following review contains spoilers)
The leaves may be falling but dopamine levels are rising as Worcester County Light Opera Company (WCLOC) presents the provocative four-hander play "THE EFFECT."
Written by British playwright Lucy Prebble, the two-act play focuses on a test study and a couple that meets and falls in love…or have they?
Prebble’s play questions whether the couple’s sudden romance is genuine or merely an artificial side effect caused by rising dopamine levels via a clinical drug trial for a new antidepressant.
Later, the WCLOC play takes a far darker turn as it factors in various obscured omissions from the trial data resulting in a moral and ethical dilemma erupting (not only for the couple serving as participants but also for those running the trial).
"THE EFFECT" deals with some evolved concepts using humor, but does so in an indirect way, without the need for any forced punchlines or contrived subplots.
The play also prompts the audience to ask whether healing, love and sadness are genuine emotional states or just biological side effects of today’s pharmaceutical alchemy.
"THE EFFECT" is a piece that will not resonate with everyone but some might find the play extremely compelling.
That said, Prebble’s story also seems to come with some fundamental issues as it lacks a clear central focus, or perhaps there are just too many sub-plots (given there are just four characters) that the central storyline becomes overwhelmed.
In either case, the collective performances, as guided by the detailed approach taken by WCLOC director Kaci Kneeland, help keep the story on track.
"THE EFFECT" debuted in London in 2012 with a revival 11 years later in 2023 before ultimately moving to New York City in 2024 and in 2025.
The original production received both acclaim and numerous award nominations, achieving a win as Best New Play by the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards in 2012.
(Photo: James Stergios as "Tristan Frey" and Sara Yaqouti as "Connie Hall" in a scene from Lucy Prebble's "THE EFFECT" now playing at Worcester County Light Opera Company in Worcester, MA. through October 25, 2026. Photo Credit: Amy Mae Photography)
In the WCLOC show, free spirit Tristan Frey (James Stergios) and psychology student Connie Hall (Sara Yaqouti) each agree to volunteer in a clinical drug trial run by Dr. Lorna James (Meghan Trask).
Stergios and Yaqouti have a fine cohesiveness as the couple that, while seemingly polar opposites, soon find themselves attracted to one another and fall in love.
As Tristan, Stergios serves the part well as the crucial thematic and dramatic catalyst, bringing to the role the impulsive and erratic side of human emotion.
Tristan is a carefree, fast-talking drifter, obfuscating Prebble’s posed central question: Is love a profound human experience, or is it just a neurochemical reaction?
Conversely, the far-more logical and guarded Connie, as well portrayed by Yaqouti, uses her head more than heart, constantly trying to rationalize her emotions.
(Photo: James Stergios as "Tristan Frey" in a scene from Lucy Prebble's "THE EFFECT" now playing at Worcester County Light Opera Company in Worcester, MA. through October 25, 2026. Photo Credit: Amy Mae Photography)
Tristan’s volatile impulsivity juxtaposes Connie’s more static prudence, as it drives home Prebble’s essay on the conflict between intellect and biology…or quite simply, the head vs. heart.
This is where the story works best.
Where the script begins to falter is in the subplot of those running the controlled experiment.
Again, not really the fault of the actors but more in the text itself.
Dr. James is the emotional, ethical and clinical counterweight to the trial, representing human vulnerability and skepticism against corporate and scientific hubris.
Meghan Trask presents Dr. James as an objective observer quietly struggling with her own clinical depression and history of suicidal reflection.
The above is exacerbated further due to her past relationship with the collaborator that directly hired her, Dr. Toby Sealey (Paul Di Domenico).
(Photo: The CAST of Lucy Prebble's "THE EFFECT" now playing at Worcester County Light Opera Company in Worcester, MA. through October 25, 2026. Photo Credit: Amy Mae Photography)
As Dr. Sealey, Di Domenico gives a considered performance as the ambitious and ethically challenged foil to Dr. James.
For Sealey, presented as a "wellness guru," the anti-depressant trial is merely a stepping stone for his own career advancement.
As such, Dr. Sealey hawks pharmaceuticals as a potential fix for cerebral disorders and clinical depression.
Meanwhile, Dr. James sours at corporate attempts to reduce human emotions and mental health down to mere chemical outputs.
In the WCLOC play, there are allusions to “Big Pharma” with Dr. Sealey advocating aspirations of the pharmaceutical industry over patient care.
Paralleling the trial subjects, in "THE EFFECT" we discover Dr. James had a past relationship with Dr. Sealey which she recalls as meaningful, while Dr. Sealey views it…well…on a far more “surface” level.
(Photo: Paul Di Domenico as "Dr. Toby Sealey" with Meghan Trask as "Dr. Lorna James" in a scene from Lucy Prebble's "THE EFFECT" now playing at Worcester County Light Opera Company in Worcester, MA. through October 25, 2026. Photo Credit: Amy Mae Photography)
Questions (and tempers) escalate between both the test subjects and those monitoring them.
Could it be that Tristan and Connie’s newfound passion is truly an instinctive effect or merely a result caused by irresponsibly reported elevated dopamine levels?
The play does not deliberately answer this question - also incorporating the plot device of a “placebo” as a red herring to further obfuscate - but it could have been left intentionally vague by Prebble, encouraging audiences to decide the answer for themselves.
The WCLOC set design is extremely inventive and the incorporation of specialized lighting and projections is executed with great precision.
At the opening night performance on October 16th, the overall pacing of the show appeared sluggish with several lines flubbed along the way.
However, this did not deter the cast which successfully overcame these minor awkward moments and ultimately served the material faithfully.
"THE EFFECT" continues at WCLOC in Worcester, MA. until October 25th, 2026 and there is an advisory in place stipulating that the play contains some emotionally charged content that some may find triggering.
Just in time for the holidays, Worcester County Light Opera Company will gift to Worcester the Tennessee Williams’ classic “THE GLASS MENAGERIE” which runs from December 4th through December 15th, 2026.
For tickets or more information call WCLOC at # 508-753-4383 or visit www.wcloc.org
BUY TICKETS
Approximately two hours with one intermission.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE STORY
Lucy Prebble's "THE EFFECT" is a clinical romance.
Two young volunteers, Tristan and Connie, agree to take part in a drug trial.
Succumbing to the gravitational pull of attraction and love, however, Tristan and Connie manage to throw the trial off-course, much to the frustration of the clinicians involved.
This funny, moving and perhaps surprisingly human play explores questions of sanity, neurology and the limits of medicine, alongside ideas of fate, loyalty and the inevitability of physical attraction. (Concord Theatricals)
For tickets or more information call WCLOC at # 508-753-4383 or visit www.wcloc.org
BUY TICKETS
ABOUT WORCESTER COUNTY LIGHT OPERA COMPANY (WCLOC)
Founded in 1937, WCLOC is Worcester’s oldest active theater company. As a local, non-profit community theater, we depend on the generosity of our members, patrons, subscribers, and donors to help forward the mission of our organization to entertain, inform, and nurture local artists and audiences through the production of high quality, affordable musicals, plays, and children’s educational workshops. A donation to WCLOC allows us to continue to keep tickets affordable for local audiences, helps us maintain and make necessary improvements to our Clubhouse, and supports a full season of memorable theater and educational opportunities.
WORCESTER COUNTY LIGHT OPERA COMPANY
P.O. Box # 51
Worcester, MA. 01613
# 508-753-4383
