Putting theatre
into Streatham
Sat. 21 May at 7.30pm prompt
Doors open 30 minutes earlier
Tooting Library
75 Mitcham Road
London SW17 9PD
Adults £7, Concessions £5
“In the long run, it’s not breaking the code that matters – it’s where you go from there. That’s the real problem.”
Alan Turing was the eccentric genius who helped break the complex German Enigma code, playing a major role in the winning of WW II. After the war Turing turned his scientific and mathematical genius to the concept of developing an ‘electronic brain’; the first computer, which lead ultimately to today’s smartphones and tablets.
Meanwhile, in his private life Turing was breaking another code: the taboo of homosexuality. In 1952 he was convicted of the criminal act of gross indecency and sentenced to undergo hormone treatments as part of his rehabilitation. He committed suicide in 1954.
This rehearsed reading is based on our performances of Hugh Whitemore’s play at Streatham Festival (July 2015) and our rehearsed readings in St. Leonards on Sea (February 2016). It focuses on Turing the man, his personal moral code, the relationships that influenced his life and his struggle to appreciate the conventions and laws of 1950s society.
Not suitable for children.
BREAKING THE CODE
by Hugh Whitemore, based on the book
‘Alan Turing: The Enigma’ by Alan Hodges
An amateur production by special arrangement with Samuel French