‘The Nether’ Foretells How AI Has the Power to Shape Our Lives

Renaissance Theaterworks delves into ethics in virtual reality and the impact of technology on our human relationships in its latest production.

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When “the curtain rises” (figuratively) on the opening scene of The Nether, Jennifer Haley’s play that forces us to look at darker forces behind AI, the audience is confronted by a gray and seemingly lifeless world. But that gloomy scene doesn’t last for long. A door soon opens to a brighter place: a lush paradise blooming with trees, flowers, streams. 

This inviting Eden isn’t what it seems to be. And that’s the focus behind this suspenseful, shocking and deeply thoughtful story that coming soon to Milwaukee’s Renaissance Theaterworks. Their production of The Nether opens with a preview on Friday (January 10) and continues through February 2 at the venue it shares with Next Act Theatre.

According to Suzan Fete, Renaissance’s artistic director and co-founder, she “has wanted to produce (this play) since I first read it in 2013.” She continues, “I waited for just the right season and the right director to bring this brilliant and challenging work to life. I’m so glad I waited.”

The 90-minute play will be directed by longtime Milwaukee favorite Elyse Edelman. Her career began in nearby Minneapolis, where she both directed and performed onstage. Although she calls acting her “primary training,” she has been able to expand her artistic focus in Milwaukee. “I’ve been very fortunate to assist, work closely with, and be mentored by Suzan Fete at Renaissance Theaterworks (RTW); Jennifer Uphoff Gray, artistic director at Forward Theater in Madison; and Roseann Sheridan, artistic director emeritus at Children's Theater of Madison. This is my fifth production at RTW, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to work and grow with this company and its people.”

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Ethics of Technology

In directing The Nether, Edelman has her work cut out for her. The play tackles a number of different themes, many of them related to the ethics of technology. The 2013 play’s title refers to a “new name” given to the internet.

Jennifer Haley, a Los Angeles-based playwright, delves into ethics in virtual reality and the impact of technology on our human relationships. The Nether created a sensation when it debuted at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in California. Subsequent productions have been mounted across the country, as well as in New York (Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theater) and on London’s West End. Along the way, The Nether has won a number of prestigious awards.

Milwaukee’s first look at the play happened five years ago in a production staged by The Constructivists.

Fete is excited about offering The Nether to RTW audiences. “RTW has a 31-year history of creating high quality theater and providing opportunities to women on stage and off,” she says. As for the play’s relevance, Fete believes that “AI has come into its age (this year). Every day the media cites daily breakthroughs in new AI achievements, (many related to) cancer research, robotics and the advent of realistic video creation. AI is on everyone’s mind in a way it wasn’t 12 years ago (when the play was first produced). Audiences (who see The Nether) will question the little ways in which technology has infiltrated our lives 24/7.”

For all its focus on technology, The Nether also stresses the need for human relationships. The five-person cast portrays a mix of real-life humans as well as technology-created avatars. There’s also an element of crime drama that will appeal to fans of TV shows such as “SVU.” All of these elements are mentioned in the play’s production notes. For all the seriousness of its subject matter, the play also has a sense of humor. “There is certainly comedy in The Nether,” according to Edelman. “Haley writes about the dark themes of virtual reality alongside the lighter ones. In doing so, she captures both beauty and ugliness. With that, humor naturally emerges.”

After launching The Nether, Edelman is going to flex her acting muscles later this spring. She’ll appear in Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s production of Every Brilliant Thing, with co-star James Carrington. The show opens February 27 in Goodman Mainstage Hall in the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center.

For more information about getting tickets to The Nether, contact the box office at 414-278-0765, visit the theater at 255 S. Water St., or go to r-t-w.com.