The Nether

Well the award for bravest and most original theme for a play should go the American playwright of the Nether.

Its set in a dystopic future where the real world sounds to have deteriorated horribly, but people spend more time on the internet (now called the Nether). What makes this so original, and brave, is that the whole play centres around an investigation into child abuse. But its not real child abuse. Its totally imaginary abuse. The man under investigation has built a an internet sight that is incredibly realistic into which adults come to visit and meet children. But the children aren't children at all. It is all a matter of on-line role-playing. So the little girl, Iris (superbly acted by the way), is actually a 65 year-old man.

What we are supposed to take from this and ponder upon is whether this sort of thing is harmless, since no children were harmed in the process, or even exist. Indeed, maybe this is beneficial because, as the main protagonist makes clear, if he has to act out his fantasies in reality then there really would be harm caused.

A word of praise too for the wonderfully imagined set. The play takes place across a desk which is supposed to be a computer screen. The real characters sit either side of it.

 However, then we switch to the Nether World, which is projected onto a white screen behind in a swirling image which then becomes reality as the screen opens up in the middle to revel the internet site with the internet characters, played within a mirrored forested box. You have to see it.

But is it really a play? That is the problem for me. It was an interesting debate on an interesting subject matter which raises real issues which are becoming increasingly relevant as technology improves. As computer graphics improve, all this could become real - abuse available without anyone being abused or even photographed. But there just wasn't enough drama to make it a theatrical experience for me. Not enough happens.