GWR Honors the life of Alan Turing
GWR Intercity Express Train No. 800008 was named Alan Turing at London Paddington this afternoon and is also dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community // Credit: GWR
The LGBTQ+ icon of Justine F. Chen and David Simpatico's spring 2023 show The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing’s, Alan Turing, was honored by having Britain’s Great Western Railway intercity express ‘Trainbow’ named after him. This comes as a part of the Pride month celebrations GWR does yearly.
Considered the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence, Turing played a crucial role in cracking intercepted coded messages from Nazi U-boats, leading to the Allied forces' victory in WWII.
In 1952, Turing was prosecuted for gross indecency and chemically castrated over a homosexual relationship. Two years later, he was mysteriously found dead of cyanide poisoning in his Manchester home. Now celebrated as an LGBTQ+ icon, Turing posthumously received a royal pardon in 2013. A law known as "Turing's Law" was passed in 2017, which aided in pardoning 65,000 gay and bisexual men convicted of similar crimes.
Witness his story come to life in the world premiere of The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing onstage at the Harris Theater in March 2023.
Buy your 2022/23 COT subscription now at cot.org/season.
