Breaking the Code

The acclaimed, Tony Award-winning play about groundbreaking mathematician Alan Turing.

A historical drama based on the life of Alan Turing, whose contribution to the Allies winning World War II through breaking the Enigma code, was tragically overshadowed by his suicide following the cruel persecution he faced from the British Establishment because of his homosexuality.This compassionate play is the story of Alan Turing, mathematician and father of computer science. Turing broke the code in two ways: he cracked the German Enigma code during World War II (for which he was decorated by Churchill) and also shattered the English code of sexual discretion with his homosexuality (for which he was arrested on a charge of gross indecency). Whitemore's play, shifting back and forth in time, seeks to find a connection between the two events. When first performed in the 1980s, Breaking the Code was critically acclaimed in the UK before a Broadway transfer won it a raft of awards & nominations including 3 Tony Awards, and 2 Drama Desk awards.