You on the Moors Now in Chicago

Opening in Chicago, this production features, among others, heroines from the Brontës in no less than the Moor Wars:

The Hypocrites presents
You On the Moors Now
by Jaclyn Backhaus
Directed by Devon de Mayo

The Den Theatre’s Heath Main Stage,
1329 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
September 9 – October 30, 2016

This crazy, funny show sets heroines from the 19th-century novels of Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, in a mythical place of Moors. When our heroines receive proposals of marriage, they decide to escape. The men wage war on the women starting the Moors Wars. Jaclyn Backhaus’ ultimately moving and inventive play ends in beautiful prose like a chapter from the books these women originated. Directed by Devon de Mayo.

“You On the Moors Now excites me because it is a feminist re-imagining of the lives of the heroines of four of the greatest literary novels by women,” comments director Devon de Mayo. “It reminds us of the specific importance of the strong, female protagonist, and asks ‘What if she didn’t need the dude? Like, at all?’ And ‘What if a woman’s friendship with other women is what drives her? Not her relationship with men.’ It’s so exciting to see these classics ripped apart and exploded into new, imagined circumstances. It’s witty, unpredictable and empowering. I think of it as Masterpiece Theatre meets Charles Mee meets Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play. Every time I read the play it makes me laugh, it surprises me and I find it touching.” – Devon de Mayo