Peck School’s ‘Wildly Romantic Brontëan Mutation’

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'The Moors' by Peck School of the Arts

Playwright Jen Silverman’s distinctly contemporary and deeply philosophical take on Victorian romance found a cozy staging with UWM Peck School of the Arts this past week as director Ralph Janes brought The Moors to the minimalist stage of Kenilworth Five-0-Eight. A wildly romantic Brontëan mutation resonated through light and shadow. Kali Langford’s scenic design delivered just enough atmosphere to the stage with the aid of very cleverly rendered lighting by Danny Gomez Sandoval. 

Autumn G. Gill was sparklingly witty and sweetly charismatic as a new governess named Emilie who arrives at an estate on the brutal British moors. She’s a bit confused to arrive at the home to find only two women and a maid living at the home. She had been exchanging semi-romantic letters with a man who identified the residence as his address. Maggie Baisley and JoHannah Wiggins cleverly inhabited the stage as a pair of sisters inspired by the Brontës. 

As Emilie begins work, there’s no sign of a child. So why was she sent for to work there as a governess? And why does the maid insist that she’s more than one person? There’s a rich sense of dark absurdity running through Silverman’s script that added to the atmosphere of the production thanks to some remarkably nuanced performances by Ted Santi in the role of a morose mastiff and Natalie Gustafson as the anxious, little moor-hen. Santi and Gustafson delivered a remarkably vivid and charmingly innocent interspecies romance. 

Silverman’s script is captivating. There’s mystery. There’s horror. There’s fable and fantasy. It’s a strangely fun mixture of different elements that all seem to have no logical business being together. Janes and company did a brilliant job of presenting a haunting and beautifully cohesive vision.

UWM Peck School of the Arts’ production of The Moors ran for one weekend through Nov. 5. For more information about upcoming UWM PSOA events, visit uwm.edu/arts/events.