Picture
Sold Out

The Hull/Hawley Plays: the WIDOW'S lAND & HOLD tHESE tRUTHS

September 17 - October 4, 2026
Staged in the Shepherd Barn, Historic Northampton
If you would like to be among the first to know about ticket for our production of the Hull/Hawley plays next year, please fill out this form.
​
To mark the nation's 250th anniversary, Historic Northampton presents two new plays. These one-act dramas take us into the lives of two Northampton residents in the years just before the American Revolution.
The Widow’s Land
by Betel Arnold
The Widow’s Land by Betel Arnold
In 1765, Bathsheba Hull, a Black woman living with her children in her home on an island in the Mill River, receives an eviction notice from Town officials.

The Widow's Land follows her fight for her home, her position as a free woman in colonial Northampton, and her children’s future.
Hold These Truths
by Harley Erdman
​Hold These Truths by Harley Erdman
In May 1774, Massachusetts is on the cusp of rebellion and ready to call for the first Continental Congress to be held in Philadelphia. Joseph Hawley, a Northampton lawyer and prominent Patriot, is nominated to represent Massachusetts.

Hold These Truths explores Hawley’s life, his political ideals, and his struggles with depression as he decides whether to accept the nomination.
Both 40-minute plays will be performed every time and
will be followed by a brief talkback with the artists and a historian.

All seating is general.
​
Content Advisory: The plays are recommended for ages 15+
Performance Times​
​​
Refund Policy
This is a no refund event.  Refunds will not be issued for change-of-mind reasons or time conflicts.
You may request a partial admission ticket refund for medical issues such as COVID-19 or a COVID-19 exposure
by emailing [email protected] at least six hours prior to the start of the event.
Major Funding for the Hull/Hawley Plays
​has been provided by the SCP Foundation
​
The Company for the Hull/Hawley Plays
​

The company is directed by Brianna Sloane and includes sixteen local professional theatre artists, including Trenda Loftin, Michael Ofori, Matt Haas, Lindel Hart, Linda Tardif, and Elijah Sarrouf.
 
Costumes designed by Emily Dunn, props and furnishing designed by Amy Putnam, sound designed by Tom Shread. Stage management by Nikki Beck and Madison VanDeurzen, production assistance by Hahn Rioux and produced by Talya Kingston.
About Plays in Place
​
Picture
Founded in 2017, Plays in Place is a theatre company that creates new site-specific plays in partnership with museums, historic spaces, and other institutions. They have extensive experience bringing historic stories and sites to life in ways that deeply engage audiences.

Past partners and  projects include: Mount Auburn Cemetery (The America Plays, The Nature Plays, Moonlight Abolitionists); Old South Meeting House (Cato & Dolly, I Am This Place, Scipio’s Balcony, Imagining The Age of Phillis); Roosevelt-Campobello International Park (Beloved Island: Windows on Campobello); the National Park Service (Suffrage in Black & White); Old North Church & Historic Site (Old North Illuminated, Revolution’s Edge); MassBike (The Kittie Knox Plays), as well as Historic Northampton (Pulling At The Roots). 

To learn about other plays by Plays in Place taking place this summer, visit www.playsinplace.com