THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ALAN TURING
Alan Turing (1912-1954) was a mathematician, cryptanalyst and first generation computer scientist.
Best known for his breakthrough deciphering the codes for the German Enigma machine during World War II, preventing the war from extending for longer, Turing was also a pioneer in artificial intelligence. In 1952, the scientist faced a criminal prosecution for homosexuality, back then considered a serious indecency. Convicted and chemically castrated, Turing died two years later of cyanide poisoning – still unclear if accidentally or deliberately. In 2009, after an internet campaign, the British Government apologized publicly for the sentence and, in 2013, Queen Elizabeth II.
Bonneville has an intimate relationship with real characters in History and a very particular way of bringing them into his stage sets. In The Importance of Being Alan Turing – an emotional technology project –, he develops an obsessive perspective on the body and how it relates to electronic music; bodily experience + mathematical discipline = erotic potency.
For this performance Bonneville worked with sound artist Clothilde and her modular synthesizers (which are very similar to early-age computers), both seeking to penetrate a “world of ghosts traveling through the wires”, creating music to un-discipline the body.
Credits
Director, Composer, Writer and Performer: M̶i̶g̶u̶e̶l̶ Bonneville. Co-creator, Composer and Performer: Clothilde.
Sound effects: BlackBambi.
Sound Operation: José Veiga. Costume Design: Mariana Sá Nogueira. Light Design: Nuno Patinho. Set Design: Nuno Tomaz. Preface: João Manuel de Oliveira. Photography and Design: Joana Linda, M̶i̶g̶u̶e̶l̶ Bonneville. Design/Publication: Ilhas. Executive Production: Diogo Melo. Production: Teatro do Silêncio.
Support: Fundo Cultural SPA. Residency Support: Arte Total/ Guelra – Laboratório de Criação Coreográfica, Teatro Cão Solteiro, Voarte/Soudos – Espaço Rural de Artes e AAC-Soudos. Co-production: Circular Festival de Artes Performativas, Festival Verão Azul - casaBranca.
This project was financed by Governo de Portugal/Secretaria de Estado da Cultura/DGArtes.
Premiere
25th of September 2020, Circular Festival de Artes Performativas, Vila do Conde, Portugal
Tour
19th of November 2021, Festival Verão Azul, Faro, Portugal
14th - 15th of October 2021, Festival Temps d'Images, Lisbon, Portugal
