by Mike Hoban
The Nether – Written by Jennifer Haley; Directed by Sarah Gazdowicz. Creative Team: Rebecca Lehrhoff (Set Design), Coriana Hunt Swartz (Costume Design); Connor Van Ness (Lighting Design); Kyle Lampe; (Sound Design). Presented by Flat Earth Theatre at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown through June 23.
As I was walking into the Mosesian Theater to see Flat Earth’s compelling and disturbing production of Jennifer Haley’s The Nether, I casually asked a fellow reviewer if they had read anything about the play that we were about to see. They responded no, that they usually prefer to not to know anything about a play before seeing it. “Probably a good idea,” I remarked, not knowing that this production would perhaps be the single best case one could make for that practice. Suffice to say that while knowing the subject matter beforehand could deter some folks from attending, I can say without reservation that it would be a shame to miss this remarkable and thought-provoking piece.
The Nether uses the most reprehensible and damaging acts of sexual and spiritual violence – pedophilia – as the focal point of its riveting detective story, but Haley allows us to somehow detach from our revulsion enough to be able to contemplate a number of questions, including the central one presented in the play: Who would we be if we were able to live a life without consequences? And while it doesn’t necessarily make the narrative any less creepy, the twists and turns of the plot make for an absorbing 90 minutes of theater.
When the story opens, we see Sims (Bob Mussett) being interrogated by Detective Morris (Regine Vitale), regarding his realm in the Nether (a virtual reality-enhanced version of the internet). Known as the Hideaway, a late 1800’s Victorian mansion where “guests” come to not only role play as characters of that era but to act out their fantasies with tween girls, it is a both a lucrative enterprise and a way of life for Sims, who goes by the unsettling name of “Poppa” in this domain. A self-admitted pedophile, he tries to make the case that it is better for him and others of his ilk to act out fantasies in a virtual world rather than to harm innocents, since in the Hideaway there are roleplaying adults behind both the adults and the children. At least theoretically, which is why Morris is investigating the realm.
The detective is also questioning Doyle (Jeff Gill), a 65-year old physics professor who may be contemplating “crossing over” – living his life entirely in the realm while keeping his physical body on a minimal life support system in the real world – about his involvement with the Hideaway. To investigate, Morris has sent an agent, Thomas Woodnut (Arthur Gomez) into the realm, where he encounters Iris (graduating Medford High senior Julia Talbot) a 12-year old virtual girl who “entertains” guests and is Poppa’s personal favorite.
To say much more about the plot would be giving too much away, but subject matter aside, this a well-acted, deftly directed play that may leave you thinking more about the troubling trend of how technology is supplanting genuine human interaction than anything else. Given the advances in virtual and augmented reality and the increasing utility of artificial intelligence (although “real” AI is still a distant prospect) Haley is able to create a believable world for us, so instead of a theoretical sci-fi play, the issues raised have a real relevance to today’s world. As Sims tells Morris after she chides him for spending an average of 14 hours a day in virtual reality. “Just because it’s virtual doesn’t mean it isn’t real.”
Flat Earth has produced a handful of terrific productions in recent years, and while The Nether may not be on a par with the spectacular Farnsworth Invention (for which the company and director Gazdowicz received an IRNE in 2016), it ranks with some of the company’s best works. The ensemble is terrific, with Vital submitting her best performance to date as the no-nonsense but vulnerable Detective Morris, while Mussett masterfully conveys the matter-of-fact sociopathic thinking of his character, particularly when it is clear that his feelings for Iris have more to do with control than love. Talbot also gives a complex performance, maintaining a level of detachment to the proceedings even as she feels a kind of love for her perpetrators. Rebecca Lehrhoff’s split set is simple but highly effective, with a stark contrast between the bleak interrogation area and the warm sitting room where Iris entertains the “guests” at the Hideaway.
The Nether works well on multiple levels, but especially so as a detective story and a cautionary tale about the effect technology is having on our ability to connect with one another. It is well worth seeing. For tickets and info, go to: https://www.flatearththeatre.com
