BREAKING THE CODE

A play telling the incredible story of Alan Turing - Breaking the Code - is coming to the New Theatre in Peterborough running from October 14 to 16.

Alan Turing was a brilliant mathematician, best known for his work at Bletchley Park, breaking the Enigma code used by Nazi Germany in World War II – but also a pioneer within the fields of computing and Artificial Intelligence. In 1952, Turing was convicted of gross indecency for having an affair with a young man, and was sentenced to chemical castration, forced to take hormones. He died from cyanide poisoning in 1954.

In 1986, Hugh Whitemore’s play about Turing, Breaking the Code, was first staged at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London before transferring to Broadway; in 1996, it was made into the TV film, starring Derek Jacobi. This autumn, artistic director of Northampton’s Royal & Derngate Jesse Jones directs a new production of Breaking the Code, with Mark Edel-Hunt playing Turing. Here, they discuss the play – and why Turing’s story is as inspiring and relevant as ever…

What can audiences expect from Breaking the Code?

Jesse Jones: “It's a portrait of somebody we associate with having done one main thing – breaking the Enigma code – but it delves into his life and his relationships in a very human way. It's funny at times. It's heartbreaking at times. And it really does the job of making him human. It breaks the code of him a little bit, I suppose.”

Do you think Turing’s life and work still deserves to be better known?

Mark Edel-Hunt: “For me, while homophobia exists, we have to keep telling these stories. That's one reason why we have to keep shouting about it. And the other thing is we are living in a world where AI is hurtling towards us – and Alan Turing was the first person to really daydream about a computer that could think for itself. AI is going to profoundly change what ‘thinking’ is – and being around Alan might help us start to understand what AI might mean, and how we should handle it.” 

The conversation about AI really is moving terrifyingly fast – do you think it makes this play seem particularly pertinent?

Jones: “Yeah, I do. Those words get louder and louder in the play. The play is not about AI, but inadvertently, the question of morals, of right and wrong, folds into the AI conversation – around who is in control of it, and who we want to be making decisions for us about it.” 

What do you think Turing would have made of us all having a computer with AI on it in our pocket?

Jones: “I think he probably would've said, I told you so! There's a passage in the play that says, ‘by the year 2000, I don't think it would be unusual to speak about an intelligent machine that can think and feel’. So he might even go, what took you so long?”

Edel-Hunt: “He was excited by the idea of creating a machine that could think for itself, and so you would think chat GPT or whatever would be exciting to him. On the flip side, as I get to know Alan a bit better, he was also someone who was really energised and delighted by the deliciousness of human thinking. And in a sense, AI's helping us not to think anymore; it's going to do the thinking for us. And I wonder how he would feel about that.”

You can also enjoy a 1940s style complimentary pre-show tea party, included with every Thursday matinee ticket for the production of Breaking The Code.

Arrive one hour before the performance in the Boizot Lounge, where the space will be transformed with period décor, puzzles, a traditional pick-and-mix sweet station, free hot drinks and classic refreshments. You'll also be treated to live entertainment from the vintage vocal trio The Starlight Sisters as they serenade the gathering in true wartime style.

For tickets call the box office on 01733 852992 or visit https://newtheatre-peterborough.com/events/breaking-the-code/