Rumble Theatre and ITSAZOO Productions present Lucy Prebble's The Effect, November 7 to 22

Dark, timely thriller from the Emmy-winning writer of Succession explores passion, power, and pharmaceutical control

Two of Vancouver’s most adventurous theatre companies, Rumble Theatre and ITSAZOO Productions, are uniting for Lucy Prebble’s The Effect from November 7 to 22 at Progress Lab 1422. This love-and-science thriller from the Emmy-winning writer of HBO’s Succession places audiences inside a clinical trial where two volunteers sign up to test a dopamine-regulating drug under observation.

As doses increase and side effects ripple, attraction intensifies and the line between authentic feeling and chemical manipulation blurs—ultimately asking whether people can trust what they feel. The Effect is a taut, contemporary drama that asks if humans are anything beyond their brain chemistry.

The production delves into timely themes of mental health, power, and autonomy. It considers pharmaceutical ethics and the commodification of happiness, explores romance destabilized by science, and interrogates how desire, data, and consent intersect under observation. In Progress Lab’s intimate setting, the experiment becomes a high-stakes emotional chamber where audiences sit inside the very algorithm of feeling.

The Effect is directed by Jivesh Parasram of the Arts Club Theatre Company’s Cambodian Rock Band and Bard on the Beach’s Measure for Measure. The cast comprises a who’s who of Vancouver indie talent, including Paige Louter, Andy Kalirai, Meghan Gardiner, and Anthony Santiago.

The crew includes technical director and sound artist Jack Goodison, set and prop designer Monica Emme, costume designer Christine Quintana, lighting designer Phil Miguel, and intimacy director Lisa Goebel. It also features Rumble’s managing director Maria Zarrillo as stage manager and producer and ITSAZOO’s Sebastien Archibald as co-producer.

Tickets are available through Rumble Theatre.

Post sponsored by Rumble Theatre.

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