The Auden Test by Lawrence Aronovitch

A play about a poem about a painting about a myth - and what it means to be human. The poet W.H. Auden gives a lecture in 1954 but is distracted by some very distressing news. This 30-minute one-man show interweaves the lives and works of Auden and the mathematician Alan Turing.
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The Auden Test

Recommended by

  • Emmet L.F. Cameron:
    20 Mar. 2024
    “ The lecture being given by Auden is a powerful one in itself, made all the more so by the moments of private soliloquy woven through it. This emphasizes for the audience of the play how much Auden is unable to say directly to his audience at the 92nd St Y in 1954, even in the wake of such a tragedy as a great intellect & hero being pushed to suicide for his sexuality. This play happens in a very precise moment in the past, & it is very important right now. ”
  • Debbie Lamedman:
    20 Oct. 2021
    “ The Auden Test is a stunning piece of writing that, for this reader, initiated a whirlwind of visceral responses. We see Auden giving a lecture on poetry in 1954, but would rather memorialize his dearly departed friend, Alan Turing the mathematician. In dual monologues both internal and external, we witness the complexities of poetry, mathematics, and love Auden and Turing faced during one of the most explosive periods of world history. This piece would be a tour-de-force for any strong actor, and the evocative nature of the play would have audience members discussing it long after the curtain closes. ”
  • Rachael Carnes:
    9 Jun. 2019
    “ Poet W.H. Auden wrestles with an external persona and roiling internal questions, in this gripping monologue that finds the angles between the writer and mathematician Alan Turing. What is creativity? What is belonging? What does it mean, when a society benefits from, but can't accept one of its own? Or a whole group of people? Aronovitch voices an irreconcilability: Our near daily conversation with ignorance, cruelty and their offspring, against a backdrop of hope and beauty. Offers great ammunition for a strong actor here, and a thought-provoking work for plays on themes of science, art, history and gay rights. ”

Character Information

  • W.H. Auden
    40s
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Any age
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Any gender

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Ottawa Fringe Festival
    ,
    2023
  • Professional
    ,
    321 Collective Queer Theatrical Salon
    ,
    2017
  • Professional
    ,
    321 Collective Queer Theatrical Salon
    ,
    2016
  • Professional
    ,
    TaDa Festival
    ,
    2016
  • Professional
    ,
    Theatre of the Beat
    ,
    2016