Off to Nether Nether Land

This is your last week to catch The Gamm’s new virtual tech thriller The Nether, receiving a taught, well-acted staging now through March 26. Fans of Netflix’s techno-horror TV series “Black Mirror” will be thrilled to hear that author Jennifer Haley’s disturbing digital drama offers up much of the same type of sharp writing, dark humor and techno-paranoia, but – wait for it – IRL. (That’s “in real life” if my mom is reading this.)

Like a sci-fi “Law & Order: SVU” episode, Haley’s dark drama grapples with the philosophical and ethical questions posed by creating and living within a virtual reality. The Nether of the title refers to a future version of the internet. This fully immersive experience allows users to construct realms with intense visitor experiences that rival Disney (which is, not surprisingly, name dropped as still being on top of their game, even in this possible future).

The Nether offers visitors the opportunity to experience rare things that are in high demand – trees, fresh air, unsullied beauty. In this wild and practically unregulated world, one perfectly rendered realm, The Hideaway, offers participants a jewel box of a Victorian country home. That this scenario also demands sexual role play between adult characters and “innocent” young girls is the part that drags the characters (and us as viewers) into a dark and fetish-fed corner of The Nether.

As Sims, the architect and de facto ruler of The Hideaway, Richard Donelly turns in a powerful and disturbing performance. One can literally feel the character’s sense of privilege, his pride and obvious intelligence. Sims (or “Papa” as he is known in his realm) feels that by creating a virtual haven to indulge in otherwise illegal inclinations, he is truly doing the world a favor.

Morris, a no-nonsense investigator charged with interrogating Sims about The Hideaway feels quite the opposite. Played with necessary gravitas and drive by Casey Seymour Kim, Investigator Morris is lord and master of her cold realm, a box of a room lit only by the harsh fluorescent lights.

As the interrogation questions fly, we slowly gather pieces of information. Something has happened. Something terrible. Somehow The Nether’s unpoliced virtual wildlands have spilled over into the real world and caused actual harm. Like any good procedural, what that shocking transgression was and to whom it transpired is a mystery that only Morris knows. She doggedly presses Sims about allowing pedophiles and the like to indulge in such unspeakable behavior without consequences. The interrogation scenes allow for an intriguing debate about the ethical implications of a reality where anyone has the freedom to indulge in vilest of desires.

Sims defends himself, saying that he has ultimately helped humanity by creating The Hideaway. Within his carefully designed and constructed realm he provides an outlet to otherwise predatory elements – himself included – and thereby keeping the streets and our families safer. He also seems to have made a sound business decision with his creation, becoming very wealthy via the realm’s exorbitant membership fees.

One such member is Doyle (Jim O’Brien) a sunken shadow of a man called into Morris’ interrogation room for questioning. O’Brien offers up a convincing portrait of the guilt-ridden former teacher who yearns to ditch his physical life and cross over permanently to the virtual existence of The Nether.

In true TV procedural style, we leave the interview room and enter into the mysterious and meticulously maintained Victorian manse of The Hideaway. We meet “Papa” (Donelly again, who in his unbridled arrogance has even created his avatar in his likeness) and Iris, the very picture of an innocent young thing he has constructed to fulfill his every desire. They have a very special relationship, Papa and Iris, and even though we know she is a fabricated projection of a child and not a real one, it is disturbing to the core.

Played with perfect pitch by young actress Ally Gower, Iris is all frills and bows; her long blonde hair styled like a china doll. She appears to be a young, free-willed innocent creature – but is she just rote programming commands or is there someone else actually controlling her from behind a computer screen?

Equally wide-eyed, yet surreal, is Woodnut (a very charming Jamie Dufault) a new visitor to the realm who is there undercover to investigate and report his findings. Once we meet the avatars that populate The Hideaway and witness the lure of its offerings to visitors, playwright Haley and director Judith Swift have us firmly in their grip. Swift and her actors find the emotional center of each character – no small feat considering the story’s many twists and turns.

Set designer Sara Ossana has created an opulently detailed nature-filled retreat for the patriarch and his young charges. The paintings on the walls and the occasional unexplained weapons sprinkled throughout the set suggest something darker lurks just under the lovely façade. The period costumes by designer Marilyn Salvatore are spot-on – impeccable period designs on the virtual characters and – for their real life counterparts – a palette of hopelessly dreary neutrals.

I could not escape the feeling of dread looming large over this play, a successfully constructed and staged thriller that feeds off real fears. I have had my anxieties of what predators lurk within the “world wide web.” Take any virtual player that befriends my young child. Someone who looks nice enough and is their same age and who wants to chat about all sorts of things. Always at the back of my mind was an unsolvable question. Who were they really playing with?  ANYONE. It could be anyone on the other side of the keyboard.

The Nether by Jennifer Haley, directed by Judith Swift, runs through March 26 at The Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St, Pawtucket. Call 401-723-4266 or purchase tickets at gammtheatre.org. Appropriate for mature audiences only.