The Machine, Photo by Stephanie Berger The Machine, Photo by Stephanie Berger The Machine, Photo by Stephanie Berger The Machine, Photo by Stephanie Berger The Machine, Photo by Stephanie Berger The Machine, Photo by Stephanie Berger The Machine, Photo by Stephanie Berger The Machine, Photo by Stephanie Berger The Machine, Photo by Stephanie Berger The Machine, Photo by Stephanie Berger

The Machine

The first review of the Armory’s new play is out and it is a rave!

“A theatrical machine, delightful in the complexity
and precision of its actions”

–Entertainment Weekly

In 1997, Garry Kasparov, one of the greatest grandmasters the chess world has ever produced, arrived in New York City for the match of his life. He was playing against Deep Blue, conceived by IBM as the most powerful super-computer on the planet. What started as a bid by IBM to raise its profile and stock price became a historic encounter that pitted Kasparov against Deep Blue and its creator Doctor Hsu, a genius in his own right with a lifelong dedication to the game.

Staged by Donmar Warehouse Artistic Director Josie Rourke, this new work by British playwright Matt Charman explores Kasparov’s dramatic battle with Deep Blue and its wunderkind inventor as the world breathlessly watched on live television. The Drill Hall will be transformed into an intensely intimate environment to capture this epic struggle of man against machine.

U.S. Premiere
A play by Matt Charman
Directed by Josie Rourke

The Machine is commissioned by Park Avenue Armory, Donmar Warehouse, and Manchester International Festival.


This production is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Support for Park Avenue Armory’s artistic season has been generously provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Booth Ferris Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Marc Haas Foundation, The Charles Evans Foundation, and the Isak and Rose Weinman Foundation.

Photo: Joel Chester Fildes

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