Which it was.
But it was also much more about the fact of his homosexuality, which until fairly recently was considered a felony in Great Britain. And it was that, and the fact that he was convicted of "gross mis-conduct', plus his chemical castration as a result, that led to his suicide at the age of 42.
Growing up gay in those days, on either side of the Atlantic, was not a picnic. Having been involved as a plaintiff in the first lawsuit against DOMA, I have some knowledge of this fact.
Mark H. Dold gave a tour de force performance as Turing in last night's performance. He was on stage for most of the time often reciting difficult mathematical formulas, which must have been hard to memorize, if nothing else.
The play itself is a strange, loose-limbed arrangement of scenes from his life and his involvement with others, sexually and professionally. Considering the harsh laws in Britain concerning homosexuality in those days, it is no wonder that between having mathematical theorems constantly rushing through his head, while feeling guilt at his very sexual being, he finally took his own life.
The rest of the cast included Mike Donovan as Christopher Morcom/Nikos, Kyle Fabel as Mick Ross, Jefferson Farber as Ron Miller, Deborah Hedwall as Sarah Turing (his mother), Philip Kerr as Dillwyn Knox, Annie Meisels as Pat Green, and John Leonard Thompson as John Smith. They were all excellent. The play was directed by Joe Calarco.
I got a little tired of various people pounding on the table (practically the only bit of scenery) to make a point. After a while this became annoying. But otherwise the action was good.
To me, the most poignant scene came toward the end of the play, when Turing, in bed with a beautiful young man in Greece, who spoke no English, tries to explain how he broke the "Enigma Code'. This pathetic moment accurately depicts the trauma between mathematics and sex that dominated his short life.
