Troubled Heroes in the Virtual Reality of ‘The Nether'

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Photo Courtesy of The Constructivists

The Constructivists bring deep sci-fi drama to the small stage of 53212 Presents with an emotionally intricate production of Jennifer Haley’s The Nether. Tall, raven-haired Maya Danks is coolly heroic as Detective Morris, a hero with a haunted past who is conducting a criminal investigation into a corner of virtual reality known as The Hideaway. She interrogates a couple of men who are reluctant to talk to her. A moody and listless Jaime Jastrab shifts about under Morris’ gaze as a man with information that could aid in the investigation. Robert W.C. Kennedy cleverly treads difficult, sophisticated terrain as the creator who maintains The Hideaway, a place where adults can indulge their darker desires involving children.

Matthew Scales is compellingly vulnerable as the troubled hero Mr. Woodnut, who is investigating The Hideaway from the inside. In his exploration, he meets a virtual girl named Iris who playfully ushers Hideaway visitors to the violent ends of their violent delights. In his interactions with Iris, Woodnut discovers that desire and emotion can have dangerous convolutions when thrust outside the confines of traditional reality. Rebekah Farr renders shrewdly innocent depth into her portrayal of Iris as a girl with wisdom and curiosity that reach well beyond her role in The Hideaway. 

Director Jaimelyn Gray makes the most of the unflinching intimacy of 53212 Presents. The interrogation room rests in the foreground while the VR space exists beyond it in an occasionally stark space with walls on which backgrounds are projected. There is no escape from the drama among the intermission-less twists and turns in the exquisite darkness of Haley’s plot.

Through March 21 at 53212 Presents, 731 E. Center St. For tickets, visit theconstructivists.org.