King’s Head Theatre 6 – 23 April. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
To Kill a Machine tells the story of Alan Turing in a hard-hitting yet tender production.
Catrin Fflur Huws, inspired by Cabaret, presents pivotal moments in Turings’ life from his time at Sherborne School, through the war years at Bletchley and finally at Wilmslow, between grotesque rounds of a game show he just can’t win. The gurning hosts gleefully plot his downfall as Turing insists on truth and tries to understand the ever changing rules of society. The Imitation game is shown very cleverly, and Turing’s ideas about machines and intelligence are explored in simple and inspiring terms.
The set, with a metallic tree of life containing significant props, is starkly effective, allowing continuous references to Snow White and the poisoned apple hanging over Turing’s head.
Having only seen Gwydion Rhys in Only the Brave, where he shows his comedy and musical chops wonderfully, I was a little dubious about him playing Turing, but he blew me away. It helps that Huws has written the character with affectionate humour, but Rhys gives Turing an almost otherworldly innocence. His mannerisms and ticks do not define the character, being just one layer of his performance, creating a much more natural and sympathetic Alan Turing than other recent portrayals. One of the best performances you’ll see this year. Francois Pandolfo plays Turing’s brother, his beloved school friend, and Bletchley colleague, and manages to show each character’s exasperation and love for Turing with a deftly subtle touch. Robert Harper as the Interrogator is a very creepy gameshow host, and is fantastically dour as policeman, lawyer and other pillars of the establishment. Rick Yale just made me want to slap him as Arnold Murray, so he did a fantastic job! His sly response in court when asked if he was a homosexual is all the more shocking as it is taken from an actual court case, and the hypocrisy of the establishment is shown brilliantly with the actions accompanying his questioning.
To Kill a Machine succeeds in portraying the unfairness and hypocrisy of Turing’s treatment in a beautifully brutal way. A fantastic piece of thought-provoking writing performed brilliantly.