Breaking the Code

This compassionate play is the story of Alan Turing, mathematician and father of computer science. Turing broke the code in two ways: he cracked the German Enigma code during World War II (for which he was decorated by Churchill) and also shattered the English code of sexual discretion with his homosexuality (for which he was arrested on a charge of gross indecency). Whitemore's play, shifting back and forth in time, seeks to find a connection between the two events. When first performed in the 1980s, Breaking the Code was critically acclaimed in the UK before a Broadway transfer won it a raft of awards & nominations including 3 Tony Awards, and 2 Drama Desk awards.

Hugh Whitemore is an English playwright and screenwriter. He began his writing career in British television with both original teleplays and adaptations of classic works. He twice won a Writers’ Guild of Great Britain award. His work for American TV includes Concealed Enemies, and The Gathering Storm, which focused on a troubled period in the marriage of Clementine and Winston Churchill just prior to World War II. He won an Emmy Award for each. He also was nominated for his adaptation of the Carl Bernstein/Bob Woodward book about President Nixon, The Final Days. His most recent teleplay was My House in Umbria (2003), an adaptation of the novella by William Trevor starring Maggie Smith. His plays Breaking The Code, A Marvellous Year for Plums and Pack of Lies are published by Oberon Books.