Breaking the code

Drama / 7m, 2f / Unit set

Derek Jacobi took London and Broadway by storm in this exceptional biographical drama about a man who broke too many codes: the eccentric genius Alan Turing who played a major role in winning the World War II; he broke the complex German code called Enigma, enabling allied forces to foresee German maneuvers. Since his work was classified top secret for years after the war, no one knew how much was owed to him when he was put on trial for breaking another code the taboo against homosexuality. Turing, who was also the first to conceive of computers, was convicted of the criminal act of homosexuality and sentenced to undergo hormone treatments which left him physically and mentally debilitated. He died a suicide, forgotten and alone. This play is about who he was, what happened to him and why.

"Powerful, rivetting drama." N.Y. Daily News

"Elegant and poignant." Time Magazine

"The most important serious play of the season." Christian Science Monitor

Hugh Whitemore began his career in British television, writing many original plays and dramatizations, twice receiving the WritersÂ’ Guild Awards. He has also written for American TV, including a four-hour film about the Alger Hiss case, Concealed Enemies, which won an Emmy Award for the best mini-series. His work has twice been named Best Single TV drama by the Broadcasting Press Guild, he has received the Scripter Prize in Hollywood, the Script Prize at the 1998 Monte Carlo Festival and a special Communications Award from the American Mathematical Society. His most recent work, The Gathering Storm won the 2002 Emmy Award for outstanding writing, two Golden Globes, the Writers Guild of America Award, Peabody Award and the 2003 Emmy Award for A House In Umbria.