''Thou Shalt Not Steal'' is a 1896 Australian stage play by

Alfred Dampier Alfred Dampier (28 February 1843? 1847? – 23 May 1908) was an English-born actor-manager and playwright, active in Australia.John Rickard,Dampier, Alfred (1843–1908), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Vol. 4, Melbourne University Pre ...

. It enabled

Lily Dampier Katherine Annabel Lily Dampier (1867 or 1868 – 6 February 1915), known as Lily Dampier, was an Australian actress of stage and screen. She was the daughter of Alfred Dampier and married to Alfred Rolfe (director), Alfred Rolfe. Her best known ...

to play a dual role. The play was a melodrama. The ''Mercury'' called it "a melodrama full of picturesqueness, incident, and humour." The ''Sportsman'' said it was "well written and consistently worked ont, is fell of variety, humor and of tbe life and bustle so much to the taste of the modern playgoers." Dampier tried to sell the play in England. There was another play called ''Thou Shalt Not Steal'' so he retitled it ''A Cruel Test''.

Premise

*PROLOGUE. Richmond, near London — Weak Woman "Thou Shall Not Steal." *ACT I Scene 1 — Garden of "The Golden Fleece," Highbury. Scene 2 — Outside tho Horse Guards. Scene 3 — Interior of Rose Villa, Kensington -THE KISS of JUDAS - TEMPTATION. *ACT II.— Rose Villa, Kensington - THE POWER of GOLD — "OPPORTUNITY MAKES THE THIEF." *ACT III. Scene 1 - EPPING FOREST. Scene 2 — Near Trafalgar Square. Scene 3 — The Caravan — Man or Devil?— Under the Shadow of Night. *ACT IV Scene 1 — A FARM YARD. Scene 2 — Thames Embankment. Scene 3 — The Death Trap — CRIME and PUNISHMENT!

References

{{reflist 1890s Australian plays 1896 plays Plays by Alfred Dampier