The Effect (Fennec Fox Productions)

Content Warnings: sex, extended discussion of depression, illness and suicide, simulation of medical procedures including use of needles

Venue/Dates of Show: Bidding Burton Taylor Studio Trinity Week 7

Deadline: Thursday 5th March

Audition Type: In-person and self-tape

In a clinic in a London suburb, Rauschen Pharmaceuticals are trialling an experimental new drug. It might cure depression. It might make you fall in love. Or it might just be a placebo.

Lucy Prebble’s searching, romantic drama probes medical ethics, whether we can ever trust our emotions, and the messy human business of falling in love.

Roles:

NB. The roles of Connie and Tristan involve intimacy scenes which will be choreographed by a professional intimacy coordinator.

Connie – 26, a psychology student taking part in the trial for her own research more than anything, a rationalist at heart, initially down to earth and rule following, in a relationship with an older man outside the trial, still trying to work out quite what love is and how she feels it.

Tristan – 30, a regular participant in medical trials, outwardly bold and self-confident, extroverted and flirtatious towards Connie and Dr James, a strong believer in his own intuitions and feelings, his avuncular style turns more aggressive as he comes under pressure.

Dr Lorna James – 47, resident psychiatrist overseeing the drugs trial, has had recurring bouts of depression, is made to feel as if she needs to prove herself but resents this fact, and had a previous relationship with Toby which ended several years previously.

Dr Toby Sealey – 45, the doctor running the trial for the pharmaceutical company, has high hopes for the outcome of the trial, and had a previous relationship with Lorna which ended several years previously.

Link to Audition Pack: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pYNhRdtasLc2Y9aUKYWNWE13fQ9eJwDu/view?usp=sharing