ALAN TURING – A MUSICAL BIOGRAPHY at Riverside Studios

★★

“Joel Goodman and Jan Osborne give Turing’s life the musical treatment but, unfortunately, it doesn’t quite crack the code”

In 2023 Artificial Intelligence hit the mainstream, with ChatGPT making waves and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak bringing together world leaders at his AI safety summit at Bletchley Park. Bletchley is widely considered one of the birth places of computer science and an apt fit for a demonstration of British leadership on AI. But it’s also worth remembering that whilst now the government celebrates a grandfather of computer science who worked there, Alan Turing, during his lifetime he was also prosecuted and subjected to chemical castration for homosexuality.

Turing’s is a tragic tale of a genius’ life cut short in its prime – a young man with endless promise, who gave so much to the Allied war effort, and whose contributions could only be revealed long after his death. Joel Goodman and Jan Osborne give Turing’s life the musical treatment but, unfortunately, it doesn’t quite crack the code.

This run at Riverside Studios represents the fourth iteration of the show which has been given a makeover with a new script by Joan Greening and direction under Jane Miles. There are some good theatrical techniques at play – a recurring motif of Alan’s fascination with the fairy tale Snow White humanises his mathematical mind and a myriad of props and costume keep the story visually entertaining. But trying to pack in a man’s whole life into 80 minutes, albeit one cut short at 41, is an arduous task and one that necessitates skimming over things in scant detail or focusing in on some moments to the exclusion of others. Joel and Joan clearly prefer the former, so we see Alan at school, briefly at Cambridge and Princeton, in Bletchley breaking codes and in Manchester where he has his run in with the police. It’s a useful overview of the man’s life, but it does mean some parts – particularly his time at Bletchley, are given short shrift.

“Zara Cooke saves the day each time, lending clarity and resonance to the otherwise humdrum score”

The most moving elements of the piece are the scenes drawn from Turing’s own letters. Even a letter from an adolescent Turing demonstrates his maturity and sensitivity, powerfully delivered by Joe Bishop. The letters also reveal the influence of the women in Turing’s life; his mother, the mother of his childhood friend Chris or his colleague and brief fiancée Joan. These confidants, all skilfully played by Zara Cooke, avoid the piece simply extolling Turing’s singular genius, but neither his mother nor Joan are developed enough as characters to feel any connection to them.

Many of the faults of the show come down to the musical numbers, which lack energy, rarely drive forward the action and are not remotely memorable. Bishop seems to struggle with his cues which then leads to rushed lyrics to catch back up with the music, not helped by having to regularly imitate Alan’s rigorous athletic pursuits whilst singing. Zara Cooke saves the day each time, lending clarity and resonance to the otherwise humdrum score.

A musical biography of Turing’s life is a fine idea, and elements of this show are approaching the mark. But a musical where the defining feature, the music, is this bland and disappointingly executed makes you wonder whether it was really worth the effort.