Intelligence: Slave

by Kenneth Lin, Garrett Dillahunt (Narrator), Joe Spano (Narrator)

The story of Curt Herzstark, an Austrian industrialist and concentration camp prisoner who was sent by the Nazis to an underground salt mine during the war. While in captivity he continued his experiments with a device that would eventually become the hand-held calculator.

An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast recording, starring Garret Dillahunt, Joe Spano, Josh Stamberg, Daniel Stewart, Nick Toren, and Matthew Wolf. Directed by Matt August and recorded before a live audience by L.A. Theatre Works.

Intelligence-Slave is part of L.A. Theatre Works' Relativity Series featuring science-themed plays. Major funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, to enhance public understanding of science and technology in the modern world.

Genres: Plays, Historical Fiction

Audible Audio

Published May 22, 2015

Reviews

[Jenny Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A play that takes a very specific moment and situation in history—salt mines under a concentration camp, a faith-lost Jewish engineer tasked with inventing a hand held calculator, a 14-year-old Hitler youth whose PTSD induced nightmares have taken him out of action, and a series of army men and prisoners held in a delicate balance of distrust on all sides, including those supposedly on “their” side. But the story is also about the nationless, timeless beauty of learning, invention, and math, and the way that language preserves the possibility for human-ness. There’s no happy ending—history is enough to tell you that—but there is the possibility of humanity emerging even in the (literally) shit-laden machinery of war.

This is a play that is wound tight around its reliance on metaphor over character, so if you do not enjoy theatre without in depth character growth this may not be your cup of tea. That said, in my opinion there’s an interesting way in which there is “setting growth” so to speak. You see the scene differently by the end.

[Sophie Bloor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really liked this play. Although at first just dropping me into the plot was confusing as my brain is small- eventually I really liked it. Yes. Said that. Anyway, the comparison between intentional subtraction, on a calculator, and the horrors of the holocaust was smart and accessible. I really empathised with the two main characters and loved the little boys arc. I think it did all the tings a play should do; educate, exemplify and change perspectives. My only criticism would be the subject matter was a little dry but maybe that's just because I don't like math's. Lots and lots of clever metaphors too, so all round I was impressed and found it easy to digest with enough substance to dig into if and when wanted.

[Gil · Rating 5 out of 5]

for full review visit http://gilwilson.wordpress.com

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doesn’t drive down deep enough into the characters. Wished there was more to it.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing and horrifying play about the invention of personal calculator in a Nazi concentration camp.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief version of the inventor of the calculator.
Well played by a cast of LATW.