Alan
Turing has been enjoying quite a run in the past couple years, what with the
movie The Imitation Game copping an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and Benedict Cumberbatch setting hearts a-flutter
as the introverted and closeted Turing.
Sure,
Turing probably saved more Allied lives than any other single human being
during World War II, by using his primitive yet powerful computational machine
to crack the Nazi’s Enigma code. But his other enduring legacy is as the father
of the modern computer.
This
is the part that fascinates Jeremy Paul and Ray Caspio, the authors of The Turing Machine, now having a short
run produced by Theater Ninjas. With Paul directing and Caspio the only
performer, the show is tight and often captivating.
However,
the premise of the play presents a difficulty. The playwrights want to focus
more on the Turing machine (his computer) rather than the man. Granted, this is
an interesting intellectual exercise: Does such an intelligent machine think? Does
it have a spirit, a soul? Or is it just matter. And (as the play itself
wonders) does that even matter? Is it only humans who can be the subject of their own thoughts, or will machines be able to do that? Intriguing stuff.
The
trouble arises from the fact that the audience is made up of carbon-based life
forms that naturally gravitate to other human beings. We want to know their
stories. Perhaps when computers can arrange their own transportation and go out
for an evening and see a play, they will be more interested in the machine.
Some
of the fiercely intelligent 90-minute script whips by at a blindingly rapid broadband pace, leaving
those in the audience who are still at dial-up listening speed lost in the connectivity
dust. The non-linear script touches on aspects of Turing’s life, and even
deigns to give some direct exposition about his life—from his birth in 1912 to
his fairytale-inspired suicide by poisoned apple in 1954.
The
production is quite handsome, with engaging projections flashed on 13
mini-screens and across the whole set, designed by T. Paul Lowry. And the
electronic sound design by Eric M. Gonzalez punctuates many moments effectively.
Unfortunately
the play’s biggest asset, Ray Caspio, is a bit camouflaged in Paul’s direction.
He is often hidden in shadows, peering through a gas mask, or speaking while
not looking at the audience. Sure, we get that we’re supposed to be more
interested in the computer, but it’s hard to relate to a disembodied voice and
some projected flashes of computer innards. Caspio is a riveting, often almost
magical performer, and it’s a shame he has to take a back seat in a show where
he is the only person on stage.
The
play makes the point that Enigma was broken due to human behavior: The Nazis
insisted on beginning their daily messaging with obligatory “Heil Hitlers,” and
that allowed the code breakers at Bletchley Park to get a starting point for
their efforts. In a similar way, the humans in the audience pose a challenge
for this play. That is, we have a fatal flaw, we want to know about people, not
machines.
One
hopes the fertile and innovative minds at Theater Ninjas will find a way, as
they continue their search, to exploit that particular human quirk and use it
to explore the compelling ideas at work in this play.
The
Turing Machine
Through
this Sunday, May 24, produced by Theater Ninjas at the 78th Street
Studios, 1300 W. 78th St., theaterninjas.com.
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