Rendezvous in Bangkok…Who Killed Thomas Merton is an original play written by local Philly writers Thom Nickels and Sabina Clarke about the life of Thomas Merton, an American Trappist monk, theologian, social activist, and author of The Seven Storey Mountain. 

Rendezvous in Bangkok made its world premiere at the Commodore John Barry Club, ‘The Irish Center’ on Sunday, September 26th.

I checked out the production last month for two reasons: Merton was one of my deceased father’s favorite authors and I am a big fan of Nickels’ writing for the Irish Edition.  

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was the most influential American Catholic author of the 20th century. His autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, sold over one million copies and has been translated into over fifteen languages. 

Merton was born in Prades, France. His father Owen Merton was a New Zealander, and his mother Ruth Jenkins was an American. Both parents were artists and met in Paris, France. His mother died when he was six; his father died when he was 16 and Merton was left to the care of a guardian.

After a rambunctious youth, he converted to Roman Catholicism while a student at Columbia University. On December 10, 1941, Merton entered the Abbey of Gethsemane in Kentucky, a community of monks belonging to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappist’s), the most ascetic Roman Catholic monastic order.

Merton was a harsh critic of the Vietnam War and viewed war as the root of all evil. His writings on social issues of the day drew criticism from both Catholics and non-Catholics who thought a monk should not be involved with issues beyond monastery walls.

He was warned by his Abbot General to stop writing against the Vietnam War and about the threat of nuclear war. He was also warned by the Vatican.  

On his first trip to the Far East to attend a conference in Thailand on the feasibility of creating a dialogue between Eastern mysticism and Christianity, Thomas Merton died on December 10^th, 1968.

The official report said that Merton died of an accidental electrocution after stepping out of the shower and coming into contact with either a defective electric fan or a defective electrical cord.

His mysterious and sudden death at the age of 53 left many questions unanswered. 

Clarke and Nickels focus on Merton’s strange death in the play and what might have led up to it. The writers take a conspiratorial slant and viewers are led to ask what led to Merton’s sudden and tragic demise.

The play implies that Merton was murdered because his political activism had become too much for powerful people. It does not specify who ordered the murder, though it mentions some unusual suspects: President Lyndon Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover, or a bishop or Trappist abbot.

After the production, I spoke to Thom briefly. He mentioned his writing collaboration with Sabine went smoothly and was free of issues. Wishing Thom and Sabina much success with Rendezvous in Bangkok as they develop the final script.    

Photo: A painting of Thomas Merton by artist Ruane Manning