In “The Nether,” Renaissance Offers a Cautionary Tale from the Dark Web

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Photo by Ross Zentner Via Renaissance Theaterworks - Facebook

The Nether

Now in its 32nd season, Renaissance Theaterworks continues to challenge audiences with thought-provoking works. And the willingness to be challenged is certainly put to the test in The Nether, Jennifer Haley’s provocative play that opened last weekend. The show continues its run through February 2. 

There is so much to digest in Haley’s tightly woven play that audiences can be forgiven if a few tidbits slip from memory. At the core of The Nether is the essential tug of right vs. wrong. Haley poses more questions that she answers, and it’s up to the audience to decide where to draw the line in the slippery world of virtual reality.  

Haley sets her play in the near future, where the internet changes more quickly than the government’s law-making process can regulate. It is unclear whether a businessman like Sims (Steve Koehler) has the right to create a fantasy world in which adult men pay money to enter. The source of their entertainment is a nine-year-old avatar named Iris (played by 18-year-old Josephine Van Slyke, who alternates with Zoah Hirano). Here, in the world of make-believe, the men are encouraged to do whatever they want to this sweet little girl. 

The play opens in this garden-like, Victorian setting (set design by Doug Dion). The young girl, wearing a lacy white dress and sporting a bow in her hair, is rocking on a swing. 

Quickly, the scene shifts to a far different setting. This one, part of the real world, resembles a police station interrogation room. Sitting at a small table is the stern-faced “police captain” Morris (Laura Gray) and Mr. Sims. Morris is grilling Sims about following the rules outlined by the internet police. It remains unclear whether he has broken any laws or not. (Gray’s identity is murky, too.) 

Sims argues that his fantasy world allows users to “let off steam,” as it were, so they won’t be tempted to repeat the same behavior in the real world. Morris remains unconvinced. She believes that the Hideaway (the name for Sims’ virtual space) has no place in the nether (that’s what the internet is now called). The reason for Sims defensiveness is obvious, since the Hideaway provides some lucrative extra income.  

Cat and Mouse Game with No Clear Winner 

The scenes between a defiant Sims and elusive Morris come and go throughout the play. While Dion’s set designs are amazing, it feels as though a small area of the stage might have been permanently assigned as the interrogation room. As it is, the room’s props are repeatedly whisked on and off stage. While the backstage crew makes these scene changes seamlessly, the repetition does distract a bit from the material’s flow. 

In any case, the Victorian-themed Hideaway is so realistic that newcomers marvel at the attention to detail throughout. One of these is Woodnut (Dimonte Henning). He visits the Hideaway again and again, and develops a relationship with Sims (who is known here as Papa) and Iris. Timid at first, Woodnut is encouraged by Iris to “act out” his sexual or violent feelings towards her.  

It should be made clear that the play contains no acts of intimacy or violence. There are a few moments when Iris and her “visitor” make slightly suggestive physical contact. As a result, the theater’s press statement indicates that the play is intended for theatergoers age 18 and above. The play runs 90 minutes, with no intermission. 

The playwright touches on other issues, too. She creates an environmentally unfriendly real world that is mostly devoid of grass and trees. (No wonder people are flocking to a natural world that exists only online.) The dialogue states that some participants spend 14 hours or more at the virtual Hideaway—time that they could be spending with their real families. The lure of the Hideaway is so strong that some of the visitors, such as the 65-year-old Doyle (C. Michael Wright), want to move to there permanently. 

The fact that avatars like Iris appears so lifelike (she even begs “Papa” for a birthday party, which he denies) is all the more disconcerting. Under the direction of Elyse Edelman, the avatars seem as “real” to the audience as the other actors. 

Excellent Cast Creates an Otherworldly Experience  

Edelman is blessed with a top-notch cast, consisting of seasoned local actors who are very familiar to Milwaukee audiences. Steve Koehler, for instance, has appeared as “Lloyd” in myriad productions of Guys on Ice. C. Michael Wright is the former producing artistic director of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. (As Doyle, he aces a particularly demanding final scene.) Dimonte Henning has appeared in casts all over town, ranging from First Stage (Dream, Quickie! Dream) to Next Act (Kill Move Paradise). Laura Gray has been seen regularly in Madison as well as in Milwaukee-based productions. Many of these actors have established directing careers as well. In The Nether, they display some of the best acting one is likely to see on local stages.  

The show’s production values are elevated as well. A revolving set allows lighting designer Colin Gawronski to create the show’s multiple moods. Credit also goes to sound designer Brandon Reed and costume designer Karin Kopischke, who has made her avatar outfits as impressively detailed as the ones worn by the real-world cast members.  

Playwright Jennifer Haley has written a play that is perhaps more relevant today (with the rise of AI) than it was in 2013, when it first appeared. We may not have reached a point where people are allowed the choice of existing in the real world or becoming an avatar in some fantasy world. But with the pressures of climate change, social isolation and the acceptance of criminal behavior in the highest ranks of government officials, the days of The Nether may be closer than we think. 

Renaissance Theaterworks offers The Nether through February 2 at the theater it shares with Next Act, 255 S. Water St. For tickets, visit rtwmke.org or call (414) 278-0765.