Records of Alan Mathison Turing, of his mathematical-ingenious brain, and of the historical facts that are formed around him are surprising, interesting, and full of theoretical speculation about the impact that research into athletically built genius has had and still has on the development of artificial intelligence. We can read about his research work, which was crucial to solving the Enigma (a German electric message encryption device used during World War II), about his scientific work at the University of Manchester, about his more than just friend Christopher Morcom, who died prematurely as a result of raw milk poisoning and about his tragic fate. He was forced to choose between ways to deprive him of his precious freedom in the midst of then-hostile society. He was succumbed to chemical castration, which led him to physical and mental modifications, to the impossibility of physical and mental speed, versatility, humor, dedication, and daring focus. But we can understand his story or read it differently, through the eyes of an amazing man who, with his eternally young and playful mind, selflessly skipped the time in which he was born. He saw the human brain not only as a scientist but as a man aware of the breadth of the human spirit and mind. In the perception of the world, he was faster and so unusual to the eyes of every individual in the society of the time that he tailored the world he shared by the personification of his machine in his own way as the only tolerable reality. There, everything was his and otherwise allowed because it was meaningful and understandable only to him. Whoever entered it had to play by its rules, recognize and accept it, even if not fully understand it. Those who failed, however, eventually executed Turing.
“It’s a story about a man running.” wrote author Benoit Solès. The first performance in Slovene gives space to a man who ran a marathon with his machine and indispensable friendly minds, a scientist who outlined the foundations of modern computer science and at the same time unknowingly placed a mirror in a society that hopefully will not repeat its impatient and hostile mistakes.
from the text by Benoit Solès inspired by BREAKING THE CODE by Hugh Whitemore based on ALAN TURING – THE ENIGMA by Andrew Hodges
director Ivica Buljan translator Ignac Fock with Nejc Cijan Garlatti, Timon Šturbej and Nika Korenjak scenography, lighting design and video design Probe 13 and Toni Soprano Meneglejte costume designer Alan Hranitelj composer Andrej Makor proof reader Jože Faganel director’s assistant Nika Korenjak music recorded by musicians Meta Fajdiga (piano), Jaka Trilar (cello) and Andrej Makor (baritone solo) recording and sound mastering Milko Lazar producers Branislav Cerović and Sandra Ristić
production Mini teater Ljubljana, Slovenia
The play “La Machine de Turing” by Benoit Solès is represented by Agence Drama-Suzanne Sarquier- Paris (France)
duration 90 min
performance in Slovenian with surtitles, realized by the interns Paola Gorni and Sara Creatini supervised by Prof. Adele D’Arcangelo, Università di Bologna – Dipartimento di Interpretazione e Traduzione
Ivica Buljan holds a degree in French and Comparative Literature from the University of Zagreb. He has worked as a theater critic and for the past 25 years he has been directing plays written by established authors such as M.Tsvetaeva, P.P. Pasolini, H. Muller, R. Walser, E. Jelinek, M. Krleža, H. Guibert, A. Hilling, D. Kiš, G. Strnis, R. Bolaña, F. Šovagović, I. Sajko, Z. Mesarić, D. Ugrešić, D. Karakaš, O. Savićević-Ivančević, G. Vojnović, T. Štivičić. He has directed in theaters in Slovenia, USA, Germany, France, Italy, Hungary, Portugal, Belgium, Russia, Montenegro, Ivory Coast, Norway and Serbia. From 1998 to 2001. he was the Head of Drama of the Croatian National Theater in Split. He is the co-founder of Mini teater in Ljubljana and the Festival of World Theater in Zagreb. He received several Borštnik awards, the Sterija award, the Vjesnik award Dubravko Dujšin, the Branko Gavella Award, the Petar Brečić Award, the Havana City Medals and the highest recognition of the Republic of Slovenia in the field of art, the Prešern Fund Award. He was awarded the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, which the French Government awards to deserving individuals for their advocacy in the field of culture and art. Since 2014 he is the Head of Drama of the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb.