REVIEW: Calculations, connection, possibilities and their impact in Central Square Theater’s notable ‘Breaking the Code’
A burglary is far more complicated than it seems.
Methodically directed by Scott Edmiston and based on Andrew Hodges’s critically-acclaimed best-selling biography Alan Turing: the Enigma, Central Square Theater continues Hugh Whitemore’s biographical drama Breaking the Code live and in person at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts through Sunday, May 3. This engaging A Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production contains some adult content and runs 2 hours and 30 minutes with an intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
I first learned about Alan Turing’s incredible life and accomplishments through the riveting 2014 biopic, The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley. It is a shame that before seeing this eye opening film, I hadn’t been taught about this remarkable and renowned British mathematician, coder and computer scientist as part of my academic history.
Edmiston does not necessarily present Turing’s story in chronological order, but through segments or scenes enhanced by enigmatic typewritten statements that become clearer as the production progresses. Scenic designer Janie E. Howland and SeifAllah Salotto-Christobal cleverly weave together innovation with vintage elements as projections of definitions to garden settings to calculations are vibrantly illuminated by Karen Perlow as tilted shelves stuffed with books, manuals, vintage electronic parts, old telephones and much more hang overhead. Classic three piece suits, scholarly cardigans and colorful dresses are just a portion of Chloe Moore’s fittingly traditional 50’s era costumes.
Set in England 1952, Eddie Shields as Alan Turing meets Dom Carter as unwavering and discerning detective Mick Ross to report a mysterious burglary at Turing’s home. When something seems amiss, Carter and Turing skillfully execute their increasingly tense cat and mouse game to a stunning conclusion.
Eddie Shields embodies inquisitive, driven, blunt, painfully lonely and socially awkward Alan Turing who once considered numbers his imaginary childhood friends. The deep connection Turing possesses with numbers and technology are elements he longed for in other people. From Turing’s distinctive stutter and tics to his innate inquisitiveness to his distracted social awkwardness, Shields is exemplary as Turing. David Bryan Jackson adds easygoing humor as instantly likable and mildly muddled Dilwyn Knox who provides a good dose of lightheartedness during this often heavy production. Jackson also demonstrates his ample range as intimidating John Smith and Jackson’s dual role challenges Turing in distinct ways.
Turing is a relentlessly focused individual who walks a fine line between confidence and arrogance while facing obstacles thinking outside of the box. Turing’s driven nature and eccentricity rarely meets his match until two significant people enter his life. One is Matthew Beagan who portrays a number of roles including warm and charming Christopher, a man that Turing describes as someone who makes everyone else seem ordinary. The other is Josephine Moshiri Elwood as fellow coder Pat Green who shares a remarkable rapport and intellect that challenges Turing. Elwood beautifully depicts sweet, sympathetic and intuitive Pat with an earnest and unassuming sincerity. Their strongest moments are not in what is said but in the silences of what is left unsaid.
Paula Plum weaves an endearing mix of propriety, amiability and good humor as Turing’s mother Sara Turing who expresses interest and admiration of Turing’s various pursuits. However, a later pivotal and memorable scene between Plum and Shields is when both actors are at their best.
Not only is Turing the father of the computer and played a crucial role in World War II, but his forward thinking ideas back then about technology address the possibilities we are ever closer to making a reality today. It is fascinating to see just how this production presents technology’s rapid advancement while also making a profound statement about how we experience it in the world today.
Though I might have liked the show to have taken a closer look at how Turing accomplished his monumental feats, the production focuses more significantly on what drives him as well as his personal experiences and hardships that impacted his life. Turing’s calculations changed the world as we know it and yet, he suffered many unimaginably cruel injustices.
Imagine what more he could have done.
Central Square Theater continues Hugh Whitemore’s biographical drama Breaking the Code live and in person at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts through Sunday, May 3. Click here for more information and for tickets.
