FIU Theatre puts a wicked twist on the world of the Brontë sisters

On the bleak and isolated moors, nothing is quite as it seems. Time drifts as the days roll on, indistinguishable from one another. In all that silence, nothing can distract you from the longing to connect and be seen. It’s enough to drive anyone a little mad.

This bizarrely disorienting world sets the stage for FIU Theatre’s current production, Jen Silverman’s darkly comic gothic mystery, "The Moors," now playing through November 23 at The Wertheim.

“This play is about loneliness and isolation,” says director and assistant professor Melvin Huffnagle. “Coming out of Covid, a lot of people can understand and relate to that sense of yearning. These characters are yearning for human connection.”

The play opens in the 1840s with two sisters who live in an isolated manor on the English moors, a type of hilly, uncultivated wetland. Their only companions are their large mastiff, their maids (or is it really just one maid?) and the birds that keep crashing into their windows. But the monotony is about to break. A new governess from London is on her way, and she has no idea what she’s stepping into.

She’s barely in the door when she’s greeted with an ominous warning from Agatha, the older sister: “The moors are a savage place, and we who live here, despite our attempts to cling to a modicum of civilization, find ourselves often forced to contend with savagery. Are you sure you’re up for the task, Miss Vangergaard?”

Not exactly the warmest of welcomes, but then again, warmth is hard to come by on the moors.

Acting major Kayla Santiago plays the fish-out-of-water governess. “The play deals a lot with identity and figuring out who you are as a person and deciding to take the wheel on life,” she says. “I love the moment when Emilie makes the switch and decides to choose herself instead of waiting for someone else to do it for her.”

Drawing inspiration from the world of the Brontë sisters, "The Moors" takes the windswept isolation and emotional intensity of novels like "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights," then turns them deliciously on their head. Silverman keeps the gothic trappings (stormy weather, repressed longing, mysterious strangers) but infuses them with sharp humor and modern insight.

Even the household pets get swept up in the madness: a soulful mastiff falls for a wounded moorhen, their unlikely bond mirroring the human characters’ desperate need for connection. It’s a love story (or something like it) that gives the play an absurdist twist and proves even the animals aren’t immune to yearning.

Creating the attire for this time period is a delightful challenge for any costume designer. Costume design major Elliot Eibe embraced that challenge, crafting garments that capture both the elegance and the constraint of the 1840s.

“This period is defined by the corset,” he says. “It was a very restrictive time for women, but at the same time they’re trying to break free from that restriction. It was fun playing with that opposition in the costumes.”

"The Moors" is playing through November 23 at The Wertheim.