Breaking the Code [Rehearsed reading]

by Hugh Whitemore, based on the book ‘Alan Turing: The Enigma’ by Alan Hodges. This amateur production is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD.

Biography, Rehearsed reading

21 May 2016

7.30pm prompt. Doors open 30 minutes earlier.

Admission: Adults £7, Concessions £5. Not suitable for children.

“In the long run, it’s not breaking the code that matters – it’s where you go from there. That’s the real problem.”

Alan Turing was the eccentric genius who helped break the complex German Enigma code, playing a major role in the winning of WW II. After the war Turing turned his scientific and mathematical genius to the concept of developing an ‘electronic brain’; the first computer, which lead ultimately to today’s smartphones and tablets.

Meanwhile, in his private life Turing was breaking another code: the taboo of homosexuality. In 1952 he was convicted of the criminal act of gross indecency and sentenced to undergo hormone treatments as part of his rehabilitation.  He committed suicide in 1954.

This rehearsed reading is based on our performances of Hugh Whitemore’s play at Streatham Festival (July 2015) and our rehearsed readings in St. Leonards on Sea (February 2016). It focuses on Turing the man, his personal moral code, the relationships that influenced his life and his struggle to appreciate the conventions and laws of 1950s society.

With thanks to Tooting Library manager and staff.