“The Effect of Love – in 4D”

Reviewer: Jeremiah Choy
Performance: 12 March 2016

The Effect, staged by Pangdemonium at the Victoria Theatre and deftly directed by Tracie Pang, does not disappoint.

The two young leads, Connie Hall (played by Nikki Muller) and Triston Frey (by Linden Furnell), quickly put the “desire” to the meaning of love in the equation. The effect is inevitable: two desirable and desirous bodies trapped in a laboratory for 4 weeks and put on a pill with increasing dosage that alters perspectives.

Muller and Furnell are a delight to watch. Both are easy on the eyes, both have great timing, and above all, they possess believable chemistry with each other. Their grips on the two characters are at once tight and relaxed – very much like what good sex, I mean good love, should be.

As a parallel plot, Dr Lorna James (Tan Kheng Hua) has a once-off misbegotten affair with Dr Toby Sealey (Adrian Pang), now her boss. Dr James is desperately trying to reconnect with Dr Sealy and wondering if what they had is real. All this tension and conflict are well handled by these capable actors and their compelling performances.

In the end, it is “depression” that ruled the day. When true love fails, depression sets in. Perhaps the antithesis of love is not hate. It is depression.

Will we be able to find the cure to depression? Perhaps with a pill that The Effect is alluding to, and the side effect of which is love?

This clever and sophisticated production questions the effect but sets us to think about the answer.

The clinical (in all senses) set created by Wai Yin Kwok provides the right environment for us to check our reality. The lighting (by James Tan) is put to great effect, complemented by the sound (by Guo Ningru) and projection (by Genevive Peck).

It is almost heart wrenching to see Dr James at the end of the production struggling with her decision whether she should take the pill to treat her depression. But what of her desires? Her denial and her desperation?

But then again, what is love?

“Heart Matter”

Reviewer: Gloria Ho
Performance: 13 September 2015, 3pm

Love is nothing more than a series of chemical reactions. We have all heard this proposition before. Cleverly using this as a premise, The Effect delves deep into the heart of matter – both literally and metaphorically.

The Effect is centered on a clinical trial where participants Tristan (Johnson Chong) and Connie (Krissy Jesudason) are guinea pigs for a new drug. Coincidentally or otherwise, as the prescribed dosage increases, they gradually fall for each other. Together with them, we are forced to question whether the feelings are genuine or just a side-effect of the drug (also coined as “Viagra of the heart”). Unavoidably, the long-standing mind-body argument and dualism enter the fray. Additionally, another heavy discussion parallels: is depression a mere chemical imbalance of the brain that can be alleviated by medication or is it a complex condition caused by external factors?

Couch Theatre makes an applaudable choice for their annual production, recognizing that the stigma of mental illness still permeates through our society today. The intended purpose of this choice, however, loses clarity with seemingly half-hearted efforts in presenting this dense play written by British playwright Lucy Prebble.

Take for example the character of Dr James (Chio Su Ping), researcher of the experiment trial. Dr James is able to go about her daily work and life normally, despite her diagnosis of depression. She reveals her inner insecurities through a notable, well-delivered monologue towards the end. Instead of capitalizing on this notion of normalcy by appearance, the production perpetuates the very stereotypical perceptions of people labelled with mental illness that Dr. James finds ludicrous.

In all, a little more careful consideration and bold choices could have, in effect, made this a much more intriguing, engaging and impactful piece.

“Lucy Prebble’s The Effect”

Reviewer: Jemima Yong
Performance: 8 September 2015

Here, in The Effect, we focus on Tristan (Johnson Chong) and Connie (Krissy Jesudason), two young subjects on a clinical trial for new anti-depressants that increase dopamine levels in the brain. But who is the control in this experiment? Who is on the placebo? As dosages increase, a parallel relationship between administering psychiatrist Lorna (Chio Su Ping) and her employer Toby (Prem John) reveals fundamentally opposing views on how and when to medicate mental illness.

Couch Theatre has made a stunning choice of script to present. Lucy Prebble’s skilful four-hander serves up a compelling human narrative on a plate of fundamental questions about neuroscience, medicine, illness and life. What do we consider ‘real’ love and depression to be? Is the love experienced by the medicated mind, less legitimate? With more questions than answers, The Effect opens up discussions around mental health that is sorely lacking. We leave this performance thinking, reflecting and talking to each other. At what point does sadness become clinical depression? How useful is it to analyse our human experiences through chemical levels in the brain?

In this iteration, there tends to be more of a focus on the general picture rather than its finer details – the semi naturalistic set of white blocks coupled with largely conventional sound and lighting serves the physical rather than metaphorical aspects that the text affords. I feel that more ambition needs to be pursued here. The ensemble holds the text together with tactile chemistry and ease; this gives the entire performance a lovely charm. Ziyad Bin Ahmad Bagharib’s direction appears slightly insecure; the taut pacing needs to allow for more breathing space for the audience. It felt like I was being held on to tightly even though they were far from ever losing me. I want to place my hands on everyone’s shoulders and say, “relax, trust yourselves.”

There is no doubt that Couch Theatre is an intelligent company, working towards a practice more refined, innovative and confident. They’ve already made the excellent decision to tell great stories whilst cutting their teeth, all they need to do now is to throw themselves into the deep end and they may find something extra-ordinary. There is a lot of potential here… I’ll be watching this space with anticipation.