Jennifer Haley's 'The Nether' at InterAct

By science fiction, I don't mean space adventures like Star Wars, or the superhero fantasies enjoyed by ten-year-olds of all ages. Science fiction for adults considers human life from unusual angles; in The Nether, Haley examines contemporary Internet use, setting the action in a plausible near future. In this 2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize-winner, Haley imagines a more immersive Internet. “The Nether” becomes an obsession for "Shades," people who spend all their time plugged into alternate realities.

The virtual future

Imagine a full-immersion virtual reality: we can live there not as animated screen characters, but as lifelike avatars in detailed settings, involving all our senses. It may not be far off in real life. This 80-minute play is rich in details about a bleak near future in which trees are nearly extinct, but Shades can buy life support service so that their bodies don't wither while they spend all their time in the Nether.

When a character complains that her father never spent time with her because he was always online, we realize that she's talking about our present time. We have no idea yet how pervasive internet use will affect children's development — but we're going to find out.

Detective Morris (Bi Jean Ngo) has arrested Sims (Greg Wood), who has become wealthy through his Nether realm, "The Hideaway." It's an exclusive 1880s Victorian mansion and garden idyll, dedicated to "consensual roleplay." Morris wants to shut it down because Sims's clients are men who enter The Hideaway to seduce and murder little girls.

Haley pens a fascinating debate about the limits of free expression: the extreme scenario is a great test case, because it provokes such disgust, yet it's not "real." "It's nothing but images, and there are no consequences," Sims argues. Morris counters, "There is a line, even in our imaginations."

A measured production

The Nether is also driven by an engrossing story in which timelines and identities are gradually revealed. Morris also interrogates Doyle (Tim Moyer), a frequent Hideaway guest, and sends Detective Woodnut (Griffin Stanton-Ameisen) undercover into the Hideaway to investigate. Sims, known as "Papa" in his realm, is smitten with Iris (Emi Branes Huff), a young girl who seems to be an artificial construct invented for the Hideaway. When she entertains Woodnut, she gently reminds him of the house rules, and encourages him to live his fantasies. But no one is what they seem.

Both the script and Seth Rozin's fine production are carefully measured. What happens to children in the Hideaway is clear, but never shown explicitly. Likewise, scenes with Iris are suspenseful because, while nothing disagreeable happens on stage to this wide-eyed child character (or to the apparently not-quite teenage actress), we dread the possibility.

Melpomene Katakalos's set uses the large area and height of the Drake's proscenium stage, presenting a good portion of the Hideaway's house, including Iris's cheery pink bedroom, a cozy white porch, and a lush lawn. Morris' interrogation room, in contrast, is a small black-floored area. Maria Shaplin's lighting emphasizes the Hideaway's artificial perfection, and the harsh coldness of Morris's reality. Janus Stefanowicz's costumes allow for quick changes in period and subtly suggest the future.

The Nether's layers converge in clever surprises that make the play fulfilling as an ethical debate, a dire warning about the Internet's destructive potential, a personally driven detective tale, and — most shockingly — a love story. The Nether, along with Uncanny Valley and Haley's Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom (produced locally by Azuka Theatre Company), show the prescient power of science fiction in the theater.