Everyone knows the name Alan Turing; the man whose genius cracked the Enigma code at Bletchley Park, securing victory for the Allied forces in WWII.
It was a hugely significant moment, but there was more to Turing than just the one event, of course.
Next month, the curtain will rise on a new delivery of Hugh Whitemore’s Breaking The Code. A co-production between Northampton Royal & Derngate, Landmark Theatres and Oxford Playhouse, which shows the man behind the name.
It is being directed by Jesse Jones, who told Total MK's Sammy Jones more.
“Breaking The Code was written in the ‘80s by Hugh Whitemore, adapted from one of the first biographies of Turing, written by Alan Hodges,” Jesse said, bringing the background, “The play is a portrait of the man, rather than just concentrating on the breaking of the Enigma code. It looks at the relationships that defined Alan’s life.
“He was living at a time when it was illegal to live out one’s life in a way that was true to oneself,” Jesse told Total MK, “I think in 2025 this play serves as a reminder of how far society has come, but also speaks to the dangers if we allow ourselves to slip back to a less tolerant place.”
Breaking The Code is one of five Made in Northampton productions for the 2025/26 season.
Jesse is at the helm of them all. What is that process like?
“Process shifts from play to play, but I suppose the thing that stays the same is that the key element of my job is to try and get the best out of the incredible teams we bring together – to work with each individual to allow them the space to best communicate directly with the audience.
“This show demands a lot of research to really understand the world over the course of Turing’s life and how his brain and his bravery have changed the world as we know it.”
While Turing's marvellous mind shortened the war, he was prosecuted for gross indecency for his homosexual relationship. Two years later, in 1954, his light was extinguished, and the death declared suicide. Turing was 41 years old.
Director Jesse Jones: "I definitely feel a responsibility to tell Alan’s story with integrity" - photo by Kelly Cooper
“It is truly one of the best written plays of the last 40 years,” Jesse promises of this work, “The characters are beautifully drawn and Turing’s life is told exquisitely through the relationships that shaped him, which means we see all aspects of human behaviour.
“I would expect you to laugh, cry, learn, fill with anger and burst with admiration and love. All of that while being left with an overriding sense of loss and “What if”.”
How much of a burden of weight do you feel in trying to do his memory - and legacy - justice?
“I feel it is important to speak to his legacy,” Jesse said, “I’m not sure I see that as a burden but rather a privilege.
"I definitely feel a responsibility to tell Alan’s story with integrity, but it is important to remember that it is a piece of theatre and inevitably there will be some dramatic licence taken.”
It wasn't until 2013 that Turing was given a posthumous royal pardon for that aforementioed conviction, and a shift in attitudes has seen Turing's legacy recovered, and restored.
The face of the mathematician, logician and cryptographer features on the £50 note which came into circulation in 2021, and Turing has been celebrated in sculptures, through exhibitions, on television programmes and in news features, all of which eluded him during his all-too-short lifetime.
What do you people will take away from this show?
“Amongst many other things people will see how much the modern world has been shaped by this brilliant man,” Jesse hopes, “How important it is to have the integrity to live life as your true self. 'To ask questions of what is right and wrong and who gets to make those decisions.
"How no-one wins at the hands of persecution.”
> Breaking The Code plays at The Royal Theatre, Northampton, September 11 – September 27.
To book tickets visit www.royalandderngate.co.uk
