THOU SHALT NOT is a theatrical exploration of real events. As a guest of the Church of Saint John the Evangelist, the audience will meet Reverend Edward Hall, Mrs. Frances Hall, Eleanor Mills and all the main players of New Brunswick in 1922. The audience will be guided through a dark and surreal journey of the events leading to and following the vicious murders of "the minister and the choir singer," and the "circus" that surrounded it. THOU SHALT NOT is a re-assessment of history, the complicity of a community, and the sharp exploration of the female voices long since hushed. The staging of this play will be site-specific, peripatetic and immersive.
In 1922, near the banks of the Raritan River, a small city priest and a choir singer were slaughtered in the most infamous unsolved double homicide of the 20th century. Incompetent cops, political operatives, and the poorest and most powerful families in New Jersey were all swallowed in the circus that followed. Thinkery & Verse, working with the Church of Saint John the Evangelist, now presents THOU SHALT NOT, a nightmare narrative seen through the perspective Charlotte Mills, a young woman desperate to find her mother's murderer.
Two police officers pose as the murder victims at the scene of the crime, 1922.
Timeline1922: Episcopal priest Edward Hall and choir singer Eleanor Mills murdered outside New Brunswick, New Jersey.
1922: A scandal engulfs the case, with incompetent police work and morbid press interest turning the crime into the first major 'media circus' of the 20th century. 1923: The home parish of the priest and the choir singer, the Church of Saint John the Evangelist, declines to comment or participate in any investigation ... for almost 100 years. 1926: Edward Hall's widow, the wealthy Frances Hall, is tried (but not convicted) of Eleanor's murder. The jury also declines to convict her brothers, including 'Simple' Willie Stevens. 2018: Reversing 96 years of precedent, the vestry of the Church of Saint John the Evangelist commits to exploring their community's complicity in the murders. 2019: The church commissions Thinkery & Verse to create 'Thou Shalt Not' in their sanctuary and assembly hall. The play goes on a sold-out run in September of 2019. 2020: The Center at West Park invites Thinkery & Verse to transfer 'Thou Shalt Not' to NYC. The Church of Saint John the Evangelist invites Thinkery & Verse to remount the play. 2020: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all performances cancelled. 2021: Thinkery & Verse create the 'That's How the Story Goes' podcast and the critically-acclaimed 'Ghost Hunt' series. 2022: Thinkery & Verse and the Church of Saint John the Evangelist schedule performances of 'Thou Shalt Not' for 2022, 100 years after the murder of Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills. |
Members of the public carve pieces off of a tree at the crime scene for souvenirs. 1922.
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About Thinkery & Verse
At Thinkery & Verse we seek to perform classically inspired, politically aware plays that challenge us to be empowered, community-oriented citizens with a keen awareness of the high stakes of modern life. While our primary mission is to create new plays, one of our key creative methods is to perform our plays in repertory with classic works, thereby challenging our writers and actors to achieve new heights of creativity and aesthetics.