Tracie Bennett and John Partridge will head the cast of The Code, a new London production of Michael McKeever’s play opening at Southwark Playhouse Elephant this September.
Bennett (Here We Are, Hairspray) will play Tallulah Bankhead, with EastEnders’ star Partridge as Billy Haines.
Laying bare the unspoken rules of Hollywood, then and now – a world where image still shapes opportunity, where authenticity is curated and identity remains politicised – the cast also includes Solomon Davy (Hairspray, Grease) as Chad Manford and Nick Blakeley (Underdog: The Other Brontë, 24 Hour Plays) as Henry Willson.
Hollywood, 1950. A fading star. A rising one. An agent with an agenda. And a legend who’s seen it all.
Tallulah Bankhead – magnetic, mercurial, and unapologetically sharp-tongued – stops in 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.
Enter power agent Henry Willson and his all-too-perfect protégé Chad Manford, setting the room alight. In a world where image is everything, and identity must be carefully edited to survive, can any of them break “the code” without losing everything?
Directed by Christopher Renshaw (The King & I, We Will Rock You), The Code has set and costume design by Ethan Cheek, lighting design by Jack Weir and casting by Nicholas Hockaday. It is produced by Jim Kierstead, Merrie L Davis, Jim Head, Elisabeth Rock, Jim Karp/James Manuel Meneses, Vasi Laurence/Adina Schecter and Ted Snowdon.
The Code runs at Southwark Playhouse Elephant from September 12 until October 11, 2025. Tickets here.
Top image: The Code – credit Rich Lakos, Artwork by Steph Pyne (image supplied)