Hugh Whitemore's 1986 play 'Breaking the Code', which originally gave Derek Jacobi a key career role, has been revived with a new epilogue by Neil Bartlett to reflect Alan Turing's 2013 pardon. The production, now playing at Royal & Derngate in Northampton, offers a more redemptive portrait of the mathematician, whose brutal treatment by a homophobic state contributed to his suicide in 1954.
Directed by Jesse Jones, the revival features Mark Edel-Hunt in a superb performance as Turing. Edel-Hunt delivers long speeches of mathematical and computing exposition with clarity, suggesting the humour and sensuality Turing found in numbers and nature. The production also includes strong performances from Peter Hamilton Dyer as cryptographer Dillwyn Knox, Carla Harrison-Hodge as Bletchley colleague Pat Green, and Joe Usher as two of Turing's love interests.
The new epilogue, set in the present day at Sherborne School, Turing's alma mater, finds a way to give Turing posthumous triumph over his destruction. The touring production, which starts in Northampton 23 miles from Bletchley Park, will end in Manchester, where Turing died.
This revival is not just a tribute but a fascinating reboot, updating the play to reflect Turing's official pardon and his place on a British banknote. It highlights the world's debt to Turing for digital technology and AI, while acknowledging the dangers he foresaw.
