'The Nether' at The Duke of York's Theatre

'The Nether' - the adopted, scarily advanced grandchild of the internet. It can create sensations of touch, of smell, of sight and can even allow humans to 'cross over' into a universe we ourselves play God to. 

thenethertheplay.co.uk

I'm always a little bit dubious to believe reviews that use the words 'riveting' and 'spectacular', but true to its critics, 'The Nether' gave us everything we expected and more - more being the hour long debate me and my partner had following the show. 

theselfishyears.blogspot.com

The atmosphere within the Duke of York’s Theatre procured an essence of Charlie Brooker-esque imagination accommodated by 5 strong performances from our cast. Our actors were supported by some interesting aesthetic projections of a live video feed from a camera on the interrogation desk CS and some effective and well-executed technical transitions between the downstage 'real-world' & upstage 'The Nether'. 

'The Nether' is a play set in 2050, that explores the interrogation of the man behind the creation of a coded reality, 'The Hideaway' - a server hidden in the depths of the future of the internet (the nether), that gives paedophiles of the 'real-world' a place to act upon their urges in a false world, a secondary world. In this world, anyone can enter, so long as they adhere to the rules of 'the nether'. This means, that in 'The Hideaway', those who appear as children, are in fact adults posing as children. So is it immoral - or isn't it? Who are we to deny our escapists the chance to enter another world? Who are we to define what is imagination and what is reality?

I have invited a guest blogger, Kamal Shaddad to pick apart the concept of 'The Nether' and its morality here: http://watchinabitotheatrenstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/the-nerdy-nether.html whilst my blogpost focuses solely on the production. In doing so, I have to commend the ladies for their performances. Amanda Hale is wonderfully abrupt as our interrogator yet brilliant as our emotionally-broken daughter also. Although, even Hale is marginally overshadowed by the London debut of the young Zoe Brough as Iris.

royalcourttheatre.com

The two older members of the cast had their moments although I felt that Stanley Townsend was perhaps a little stale when compared with his co-stars. David Calder’s performance was as I expected; he gave us diffidence as well as once again attributing a remarkable naivety to his character.

I also enjoyed the performance of Ivanno Jeremiah as Professor Woodnut. He was full of energy, full of likeable physicality traits that lure us too, into the trap of ‘The Hideaway’. The relationship that blossoms between Woodnut and Iris is believable because our cast make it so. It almost feels, dare I say it, REAL.

Jennifer Haley’s script is wonderfully eloquent in both exploring the future, and in identifying and challenging our moral altruism, particularly towards children. She lures us in to the interrogation, into assuming that Morris (Hale) is in the right, and Sims (Stanley) is in the wrong. Yet as the plot unfolds, the blur between right and wrong appears more obvious. Our interrogator herself, may not be so innocent of the 'crimes' committed within 'the hideaway'. Or are they crimes? Is Iris still a child, even though she is merely coded to look as such? Will we one day have to adapt our laws to define in which reality, in which world they exist to rule? Haley boldly throws up every counter-argument in the book before it has even a chance to settle. 'The Nether' is abundantly masterful. The set-design is simple yet bold and beautiful at the same time and the sound, video and lighting provide the transitions we needed to define both worlds represented onstage.

Its 80minute running time leaves its audience wanting, which is just how a play should leave it. When the lights came on, I was still captivated and it took me a while to leave my seat. It’s been a while since I was challenged in a similar way to ‘the nether’ and it’s a welcome break to find a playwright that writes with angst, with honesty and with foresight. I can’t wait to see Haley’s next works, don’t make it too long a wait!

Remember to head over here to discover more behind the concept and moral questions 'The Nether' provokes: http://watchinabitotheatrenstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/the-nerdy-nether.html