The Playhouse Theatre staged a new production of Hugh Whitemore’s 1986 play Breaking the Code, directed by Jesse Jones. Based on Andrew Hodges’ book Alan Turing: The Enigma, it’s a biographical play about the life of the mathematician whose work in breaking the Enigma code was crucial to defeating Nazi Germany during World War II.
But the play is not just about Turing’s wartime achievements. It explores both his scientific genius and his personal vulnerability, particularly focusing on his homosexuality, which led to his prosecution under British law in 1952.
The play has a non-linear narrative, moving fluidly between different points in Turing’s life. Scenes from his childhood, war work, and postwar downfall interlace, reflecting the complexity of Turing’s character.
The simplicity and starkness of the set and lighting design really add to the period atmosphere and enhance the narrative. A few pieces of furniture and a change in lighting shift the action dramatically from an interrogation room to Turing’s home, to a public bar, to Bletchley Park, and to a bedroom in Greece. Jonathan Fensom and Johanna Town deserve much credit for this, as does Robin Colyer for the sound and music.
Mark Edel-Hunt gives an outstanding performance as Alan Turing. His speech is affected by a pronounced stammer whenever he feels nervous or uneasy, but it disappears when he talks about solving mathematical problems, becoming fluent and eloquent. The non-linear narrative allows us to learn about the man through his relationships. He has a deep connection with school friend Christopher Morcom (Joseph Edwards) and feels an enormous sense of loss at Morcom’s early death. His mother, Sara (Susie Trayling), represents the older generation’s inability to comprehend or accept difference, yet her love and confusion humanise the social prejudice of the time. His affinity with wartime colleague Pat Green (Carla Harrison-Hodge) symbolises understanding and friendship, her acceptance contrasts with society’s condemnation.
While many of Edel-Hunt’s scenes are domestic or conversational, there are also moments of abstraction as he directly addresses the audience, inviting empathy and understanding rather than judgment.
Edel-Hunt is supported by a strong cast. The aforementioned Joseph Edwards offers a considered performance as Christopher Morcom, later returning as a sixth former at Turing’s alma mater. Carla Harrison-Hodge gives a likeable performance as Turing’s potential lover. Peter Hamilton Dyer creates a memorable character as Turing’s boss, Dillwyn Knox, whom he is astonished to discover had homosexual tendencies. Susie Trayling not only plays Turing’s mother but also a dispassionate senior figure in the security services. Joe Usher plays Turing’s lovers, Ron Miller and Nicos in Greece. Niall Costigan plays Mick Ross, a by-the-book police detective who is initially the agent of Turing’s persecution but develops a growing sympathy for him.
Since the play premiered in 1986, more than 30 years after Turing’s death, its frank treatment of homosexuality, especially through the lens of a national hero, helped reclaim Turing’s reputation long before the British government’s official apology in 2009. Turing’s prediction that we would develop AI has come to pass, but perhaps more relevantly, attitudes towards sexuality have changed. With his royal pardon in 2013 came the introduction of Turing’s Law, legislation that granted automatic posthumous pardons to men convicted of now-abolished consensual same-sex offences. To reflect this, a new epilogue, delivered movingly by Joseph Edwards, has been written by Neil Bartlett, bringing the play right up to date.
The title’s double meaning, “breaking the code” of the German Enigma machine and “breaking the moral code” of his society, encapsulates the play’s central tension between intellect and identity, secrecy and truth. Breaking the Code is a powerful, compassionate portrait of a man who refused to compromise truth, whether scientific or personal, and paid the ultimate price for it.
Breaking the Code is a Royal & Derngate, Northampton, Landmark Theatres, Oxford Playhouse co-production in association with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and HOME and runs until Saturday 25th October 2025. Tickets are available here,
https://everymanplayhouse.com/event/breaking-the-code/
Reviewer – Adrian Cork
On – 21.10.2025
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