Director
Tim Sinclair

Venue
Harlequin Theatre
 Redhill 

Dates
11 - 13 June 1998

This play spans the period 1929 - 1956, looking at the life of Alan Turing, the brilliant mathematician who was one of the leading figures at Bletchley Park to break the enigma code during the Second World War. Despite his intellectual achievements it was his homosexuality which, in the conservative 1950s caught the attention of the authorities. The play brilliantly and touchingly looks at the life of the man, his relationships and work.

The following is taken from a review of the performance by Heather Palmer, whose father used to work at Bletchley Park with Dilwyn Knox

"I go to the theatre very regularly but, to my shame had never attended a local amateur production, if honest because my standards are rather high and I thought that they wouldn't be matched!

"Breaking The Code is not an easy play; it covers the work and personality of Alan Turing and is very wordy. It needs really excellent playing if an audience is to become quickly involved and be interested and care about what is happening. This production achieved this from the beginning to the end. It really did hold the attention and so top marks for that!

"The key player is, of course, Turing; a difficult part because he is the pivot everybody else reacts around. In Duncan Browne RATS had a player of excellence. He really held the attention and made you feel for his genius and dilemma; a quite outstanding performance.

"But he was well-supported too, by a cast that had clearly thought about their own characters (who were of course real people) and showed us the many influences that affected Turing. It is unfair to pick out particular parts - but I will! I thought Chris Hannigan's policeman was excellent and Scott Unwin's portrayal of Ron, the boyfriend, was very good, as indeed was Nick Winford as the MI5 character. The small cameo of Turing's friend was neat.

"I was particularly interested in Knox, as my father knew him. I never met him but I thought that Michael Beach was probably exactly as Knox was - a fine portrayal. In honesty I though the females were not so strong, mainly because of the age problem, but nevertheless both Sue Field and Alison Reynolds gave very sure and good performances.

"This is a performance that could be judged by professional standards and not found wanting - quite excellent! One only hopes that the standard of other productions in the comfortable Studio space at least matches this play."