Complex mathematics might not sound like the most riveting subject for a play, but Central Square Theater’s excellent production of “Breaking the Code” is more than equal to the task. The play looks at the life of British mathematician Alan Turing, a pioneer of computer science. He led the breaking of a Nazi code that helped the Allies win World War II and he created a foundational challenge for the field of artificial intelligence, the Turing Test, which he called “the imitation game” because it required an AI good enough at interacting to pass for human. (“The Imitation Game” is also the title of a 2014 movie about Turing). He also fell afoul of the United Kingdom’s laws against homosexuality.
All of these play out in this revival at Central Square Theater, which first produced the show in 2011 (Hugh Whitemore’s play first opened in London in 1986). A lot has changed in the 40 years since “Breaking the Code” was first staged, both in the fields of computing and in British laws regarding homosexuality. In 2017, the “Alan Turing Law” gave amnesty to approximately 75,000 people who, like Turing himself, had been convicted of “gross indecency” for homosexual acts. Queer British playwright Neil Bartlett wrote a new epilogue to the play in 2025, and the current production at CST is the United States premier of this updated version.
The play opens in 1952, when Turing turned 40. Turing reports a minor burglary of his apartment to police officer Mick Ross (Dom Carter). Ross is no mathematician, but he knows that Turing’s story doesn’t quite add up. Turing, known for his blunt honesty, lies about certain elements of the burglary to avoid revealing his sexual relationship with another man. That lie makes Ross suspicious and eventually destroys Turing’s career. It may or may not have led to his death in 1954.
Eddie Shields delivers an utterly superb portrayal of Turing, down to the anxious tics and up to the soaring mathematical explanations. Shields captures Turing’s passion for numbers and logic as well as his sense of emotional isolation. The story of his life is dramatized through a series of flashbacks alternating with that police interview. These glimpses into Turing’s past begin with secondary school, when he fell in love with Christopher Morcom (Matthew Beagan). The trauma of Morcom’s early death from tuberculosis is portrayed as part of Turing’s motivation for seeking ways to defeat death by liberating the mind from the limitations of the mortal body.
The supporting cast is also strong. Paula Plum is first-rate as Turing’s mother Sara, transforming an initially judgmental and rigid character into a warm and accepting presence in Turing’s life at just the right moment. Josephine Moshiri Elwood and Matthew Beagan are strong as well. Elwood is Pat Green, a woman who provided Turing with friendship and intellectual companionship. Beagan plays the roles of several lovers, including that of Ron Miller, the man who led to Turing’s undoing. He makes each of them distinct, including by speaking Greek for one. Scott Edmiston’s superb direction, along with Janie E. Howland’s fine scenic design and SeifAllah Salotto Cristobal’s projections, fully encapsulate the triumph — and the tragedy — of Turing’s short yet highly productive life.
Turing pursued questions beyond the comprehension of most of the people around him; he was also a queer man living in a time and place in which homosexuality was a crime. He broke Nazi encryption codes during his life; after his death, the injustice of his conviction helped dismantle Britain’s social and legal codes against homosexuality. We are living in a world where AI seems to be directing more than mimicking and LGBTQ+ people face renewed threats to their rights, which makes it feel as current as when it was first presented 40 years ago.
“Breaking the Code” by Hugh Whitemore, with an epilogue by Neil Bartlett.
Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave.
Wednesday to Sunday through April 26; extended to May 3.
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