The story of master codebreaker Alan Turing is told with controlled brilliance in this well-crafted drama.
Now well-known enough to feature on the £50 bank note, Turing’s advances in computing and codebreaking were top secret during his lifetime – but his less-guarded approach to his homosexuality left him criminalised.
While he was eventually granted a posthumous pardon, at the time he was convicted of gross indecency.
His life story, from childhood through to his death – perhaps accidental, perhaps suicide – is revealed in Hugh Whitemore’s inventive play, with a fractured narrative that jumps back and forth in time.
At the centre is Jez Pike’s astonishing portrayal of Turing. Pike is careful, controlled, and utterly convincing. He barely leaves the stage throughout the nearly three-hour run time and is compelling to watch; even when not speaking, each moment is packed with minute details that build our understanding.
Director Stephen Goldsmith sensibly lets the performance breathe, with simple staging that allows for rapid and free-flowing scene changes. A couple of devastatingly simple set piece monologues are absolute joys to watch as pieces of theatre, even though the final turn’s message is dark.
James McGarry impresses as the nominative boss of Bletchley Park, his wise old words warn lightly and warmly; William Foster is both tender and deceptive as Turing’s tragic ‘bit of rough’; and Monty Jordan bristles as the tenacious policeman that catches them out.
Lucy Stevens as Turing’s mother, and Glenda Gardiner as the ever-watchful eye of the state, have less stage time but quickly establish their characters, and their influence on events.
The only blips are the tableaus of historic queer rights protests that book-end the production, which seem oddly unsubtle given the crafted wordplay of the main script. This is a play which confidently and successfully takes long detours into mathematical theory while staying intensely watchable, and surprisingly funny. It’s message on the inequity of Turing’s treatment – and his own resilience – is writ large without dumb shows.
This is a strong and, still shocking, story, and for the most part beautifully told.
- Breaking The Code continues at Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich until Sunday, 26 July 2026. Tickets £10.50-£16.80.