The brand-new London production by Michael McKeever (Daniel's Husband) plays for a limited time this Autumn, directed by the Drama Desk award-winning and Tony-nominated Christopher Renshaw (The King and I, Broadway).
Tracie Bennett and John Partridge in The Code. Photo by Steve Gregson
The Code plays at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant following industry readings in New York, which took place in 2023.
The cast includes two-time Olivier winner Tracie Bennett (Here We Are, National Theatre) as Tallulah Bankhead and star of stage and screen John Partridge (EastEnders, BBC) as Billy Haines. They will be joined by Solomon Davy (Hairspray, UK Tour) as Chad Manford and Nick Blakeley (Underdog: The Other Brontë, National Theatre) as Henry Wilson.
The Code centres around a fading star. A rising one. An agent with an agenda. And a legend who’s seen it all. Tallulah Bankhead is magnetic, mercurial, and unapologetically sharp-tongued. She stops for a cocktail at the home of former screen idol turned interior designer Billy Haines, who may or may not be planning to disappear from the town he once ruled. But when the power agent Henry Wilson and his all-too-perfect protégé Chad Manford arrive, they set the room alight. Can any of them break "the code" without losing everything in a world where image is everything.
The creative team includes set and costume design by Ethan Cheek (This Is My Family, Southwark Playhouse Elephant), lighting design by Jack Weir (To Wong Foo, Hope Mill Theatre), and casting by Nicholas Hockaday (The Creakers, Southbank Centre). The full creative team will be announced at a later date.
The Code will play at Southwark Playhouse Elephant from 13 September to 11 October.
