Riverside Studios, Hammersmith – until 27 January 2024
Reviewed by Phil Brown
3***
It seems as if Alan Turing may just have supplanted Stephen Hawking as Britain’s favourite mathematician extraordinaire! Such widespread recognition for this remarkable man is well overdue. And the timing of this show couldn’t be much better given Turing’s prescience regarding the new hot topic of artificial intelligence.
This musical biography has been a hit show at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2022 and 2023, but in reality has been a work in progress since 2021. The idea of telling Turing’s unique story through a musical doesn’t immediately compute at first sight, but the success of the musical version of “Operation Mincemeat”, for example, demonstrates the possibilities of the format. Overall, this production makes a very commendable job of it.
The latest incarnation of “Alan Turing – a Musical ~Biography” is essentially a 90 minute, single act two hander with Joe Bishop playing Alan Turing, and Zara Cooke playing a variety of supporting characters (his mother, a schoolteacher, acquaintance Mary Peterson, fiancée and lifelong friend Joan Clark, and the infamous arresting policeman).
The play kicks off with a ticking clock and proceeds straightforwardly through a series of episodes portraying the six or so key moments in Turing’s life, – childhood/school, Cambridge, German holiday, Princeton, Bletchley/Enigma, Post war/conviction for homosexuality – whilst still managing to weave in his eccentricities. It is not widely known that he was extremely athletic – cyclist, oarsman, and Olympic standard marathon runner.
There are some very clever, creative elements to this production directed by Jane Miles. I suspect more than even a Turing fan might pick up. The writing (Joan Greening), and the songs (Joel Goodman and Jan Osborne) all impress with rich and little known detail. For example, working in Turing’s obsession with Snow White and the fact he died eating an apple he poisoned himself . The music is accomplished with some nice hooks but on occasion, maybe a little too operatically recitative. The single stage set is perforce minimalist but designed and used selectively with imagination – I particularly liked the use of the bicycle in a couple of scenes and the chalked numbers on the stage floor. The pre-recorded music (mixed by Paul Monday) – typically with piano lead and backing strings, works well, with precision timing and provides a pleasing structure to the overall story. Both actors deliver sensitive, quality performances. Acting, singing and duets all blend seamlessly. Joe Bishop captures the distracted, higher planeist air of Turing pefectly and Zara Cooke demonstrates great versatility dealing with the array of characters in her role.
While there is much to admire about this production, It seems inherently geared to small scale shows in intimate theatres. Nothing wrong with that as such, but it may slightly lack intensity and impact as a consequence. And without much variation in the tempo and instrumentation, the otherwise excellent music doesn’t contribute much to light and shade in the dynamics of the production.
I suppose a risk with a show like this is that the natural audience of Turing obsessives, as well as the rest might both view it as too superficial. I think there may be enough clever playfulness in this show to interest the former. And for anyone who doesn’t know much about Turing, it offers a gentle, unusual and entertaining introduction to this brilliant man and his tragic life.