The Nether
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Cititour.com Review
The no-nonsense female detective is grilling the older, self-righteous man across a table in a spare-looking room. There’s talk of rape, sodomy, pedophilia. Have we somehow walked into the Lucille Lortel Theatre and accidentally wandered into a reading of a script of “Law & Order: SVU”?
Not exactly, although Jennifer Haley’s award-winning drama “The Nether,” now being given a first-rate production by MCC Theater under Anne Kaufmann’s solid direction, does bear some similarities to the long-running NBC procedural. Except here the detective is not Olivia Benson, but the much younger Detective Morris (Emmy Award winner Merritt Wever in a fairly understated performance), whose job involves patrolling “The Nether,” which is a far more sophisticated version of what we now call the Internet.
The man being questioned is Mr. Sims (the superb Frank Wood, adding to his gallery of his indelible portrayals), who freely admits his sexual predilection towards children. He doesn’t act on his urges in real life, he says, but does so only in the Nether, where he’s called Papa and runs a Victorian-era house called “The Hideaway,” which caters to like-minded souls. Since it’s all make believe – even the ritual axe-killings of the young children who live in The Hideaway – isn’t his otherworldly realm a safer alternative to the real world?
It’s an interesting question for sure, and one which Haley ponders thoughtfully over the play’s taut 75 minutes. But is The Hideaway really a world which has no consequences, as Sims argues. For example, would mild-mannered science teacher Cedric Doyle (the brilliant, heartbreaking Peter Friedman) -- who’s also been brought in by Morris for questioning -- fully agree with that conclusion?
What about Morris’ colleague, Thomas Woodnut (the excellent Ben Rosenfield), who crosses the line – figuratively and literally – while working undercover at The Hideaway? Or equally important, what are the thoughts of the surprisingly seductive 9-year-old Iris (the remarkably assured Sophia Anne Caruso)? True, as Sims reminds us, Iris is actually an avatar who is voiced an actual adult – but does whoever acts as this continually abused young girl really remain untouched?
As you can imagine, giving anything more away about the twisty plot would lessen the impact of Haley’s play. What I can say is, like watching so many other works set in the so-called dystopian future, “The Nether” will probably make you feel so much better about living in the present.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.mcctheater.org
Open/Close Dates
Opening 2/24/2015
Closing 3/29/2015
Theatre Info
Lucille Lortel Theatre
121 Christopher Street
New York, NY 10014
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