A two-part show by Dr Mark Baldwin about the Allied codebreakers at Bletchley Park who cracked the Enigma machine, followed by a Q&A and a hands-on demonstration of an original Enigma.
Codebreakers – The Story of Enigma comes to The Studio at the Birmingham Rep on Saturday 17 April, starting at 7.30pm. It's a theatrical production that tells the story of the Allied codebreakers at Bletchley Park who cracked the Enigma machine, the cipher device the Germans used for their secret communications. The machine was portable, easy to operate, and could be set up in millions of ways, with the codes changed every 24 hours. Intelligence gathered from Enigma is reckoned to have shortened the war by about two years.
Dr Mark Baldwin is the man behind it. He's made a detailed study of the machine, the code-breaking work at Bletchley Park, and U-boats, and has built up a unique collection of slides that illustrate those Second World War facts. The show runs about two hours and ten minutes across two parts, and it's followed by a Q&A and a rare hands-on demonstration of one of the very few surviving original Enigma machines. It returns after last year's sold-out demonstration and show, so if you missed it then, this is your second chance.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Birmingham and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
Tickets start from £21, and those above £13 include a £1 restoration levy, though schools' tickets are excluded. There's also a £3.50 transaction fee on all payment types. The show is presented by All-Electric Productions, and with the Q&A and the demonstration at the end, it's a long evening that goes well beyond just the performance.
