THE SLIPPERY TRUTH: PRISON BREAK AT NEW-GATE by Patrick Gabridge
a site-specific world premiere produced by Plays in Place + Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine | July-August 2026
On May 18, 1781, as Generals Washington and Rochambeau were making plans to end the Revolutionary War, a group of Loyalist prisoners broke out of the New-Gate Prison in Simsbury, CT. They overpowered the guards, killing one of them, and rushed out into the night. Discovering the truth behind the escape fell on prison trustee Joseph Forward, who interrogated guards and the recaptured prisoners. Over the course of the interrogations, one thing became increasingly clear—someone was lying.
The Slippery Truth is an immersive, site-specific play staged at (and in) the Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine.
Props & Scenic Design
Hanh Rioux
Sound Design
Amy Altadonna
Costume Design
Irene V. Hatch
w. Jackson Bird,
Raymond Cain,
Brayden Esler,
Matt Haas
Craig Pinder,
Elijah Sarrouf,
& Sophie Walters.