Breaking the Code
Breaking the Code is a 1986 play by Hugh Whitemore about British mathematician Alan Turing, who was a key player in the breaking of the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park during World War II and a pioneer of computer science. The play thematically links Turing's cryptographic activities with his attempts to grapple with his homosexuality.
It was adapted as a 1996 television film directed by Herbert Wise with Derek Jacobi reprising his stage role as Turing.
Characters
- Alan Turing
- Mick Ross, detective
- Christopher Morcom, Turing's childhood friend (1911–1930)
- Sara Turing, Turing's mother (1881–1976)
- Ron Miller, a young man having an affair with Turing (based on Arnold Murray)[1]
- Dilly Knox, manager at Bletchley Park recruiting Turing for government service
- Patricia "Pat" Green, a co-worker of Turing's at Bletchley (based on Joan Clarke; 1917–1996)
Performance history and reception
Following a run in the London West End beginning in November 1986, the play ran on Broadway in New York City from November 15, 1987, to April 10, 1988, in both cases starring Derek Jacobi. The Broadway production also featured Jenny Agutter in the role of Pat Green.[2] William A. Henry III, writing in Time magazine, described the play as "elegant and poignant".[3] The Broadway production was nominated for three Tony Awards including Best Actor in a Play, Best Featured Actor in a Play, and Best Direction of a Play, and for two Drama Desk awards, for Best Actor and Best Featured Actor. Following Jacobi's departure, the London production transferred to the Comedy Theatre with John Castle as Turing.[4]
The play was adapted for television in a 1996 BBC filmed production, directed by Herbert Wise, and also starring Jacobi, which won a Broadcasting Press Guild Award and was nominated for two BAFTA TV awards, for best single drama and best actor, and for a GLAAD Media Award. It was broadcast in the United States by PBS on Masterpiece Theatre. A producer’s cut was released on DVD in 2012.
The national première for Italy of the play was translated and directed by Luca Giberti at the Stabile Theatre in Genoa, featuring Jurij Ferrini.[5][6]
During the Turing Centenary 2012, there were two productions of the play in Germany, at the English Theatre Frankfurt and an amateur tour through Germany and the Netherlands by the University Players Hamburg.[7]
The play was also staged just before the start of the Alan Turing Year celebrations, in December 2011, at the Old Fire Station in Oxford, by Oxford Theatre Guild.[8]
References
- ^ The name Ronald Miller was used by Alan Turing himself in a fragmentary autobiographical short story dated 1954 (AMT/A/13 in the Digital Turing Archive).
- ^ Jenny Agutter website, retrieved 2012-04-09
- ^ Henry III, William A. (November 23, 1987), "Ingenuousness And Genius: Breaking The Code", Time, retrieved 2008-05-10
- ^ Breaking the Code on John Castle Fansite
- ^ Interview to director and cast of Italian edition
- ^ Festival della Scienza programme entry, archived from the original on May 19, 2007, retrieved 2012-07-25
{{citation}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Breaking the Code, Frankfurt, 7 Sep - 27 Oct 2012; University Players on Tour: Breaking the Code, 14 Sep - 1 Nov 2012.
- ^ "Breaking the Code on Oxford Theatre Guild's Website." Retrieved on 26 May 2013.
External links
- Breaking the Code movie trailer
- Performance details in the Theatre Archive, University of Bristol
- Breaking the Code plot summary & character descriptions from StageAgent.com
- Breaking the Code at the Internet Broadway Database
- Breaking the Code at IMDb
- Breaking the Code [dead link] at the Alan Turing Scrapbook, archived at Perma.cc.