Murky online paedo retreat: The Nether explores the fantasy-reality divide

The things that dreams are made of

A good hiding

The action switches between The Hideaway and the interrogation room, where Morris questions both Sims and retired science professor Doyle – who, we initially assume, is also the character of Woodnut, relating his story in retrospect. Her intention throughout is to get Sims to reveal the physical In-World location of the server on which The Hideaway is stored, so she can both close it down and rescind his access to The Nether.

The Hideaway is a beautifully realised, immaculate fantasy environment
Photo © Johan Persson

Sims resists, partly because The Hideaway is so lucrative: he boasts that he has tracked down one of the world's few remaining poplar saplings and has planted it in his In-World garden. But he has a more personal reason for keeping The Hideaway active.

"I'm sick," he explains. "But I've taken responsibility for my sickness. I'm protecting my brother's children, my neighbour's children." His argument is that by allowing self-confessed paedophiles such as himself to live out their fantasies online, the effect is to safeguard children in the real world. "People should be free in their own imagination," he declares. "It's the one place they have any privacy."

Tracing the evolution of The Nether's realms through the immersive online games of today, Sims is convinced they're making the world a better, safer place. "It's as revolutionary as discovering fire," he tells Morris. "And just as dangerous," she replies.

The lack of consequence for actions in The Nether naturally leads to extreme situations. Both Poppa and Iris advocate the use of The Axe at the end of a client's session with a child: "It stops them getting too close," Poppa explains. Woodnut is at first horrified at the suggestion that he might want to murder a child, even in a virtual setting. "Doesn't it hurt?" he asks Iris. "Only as much as I want it to," she replies.

The strong cast of five is led by a domineering performance of Sims by Stanley Townsend, who you'll recognise has having played mainly baddies in a career spanning television, stage and screen. Amanda Hale, best known as Emily Reed in BBC drama Ripper Street, is the passionate yet ultimately confused Morris; and David Calder, a stalwart of stage and TV, presents a convincingly world-weary, battered and defeated Doyle.

Iris (Isabella Papas) prepares to seduce Woodnut (Ivanno Jeremiah) – but how far will he go to indulge his fantasy?
Photo © Johan Persson

But the real star of the show is the outstanding set design, which captivates with its fluidity, its versatility and its sheer dazzling magnificence. Indeed, it's the set that provides most of the action in this otherwise rather static production; when half the action features two people sitting at a table, you need dynamic staging to inject much-needed movement into the proceedings.

Jennifer Haley's play is a powerful, thought-provoking drama that peers into the near future and questions our imaginations as closely as our deeds. In a virtual world so real you can touch it, should we be held accountable for our thoughts? Does virtual morality necessarily have to match its real-world counterpart?

I overheard two teenage girls discussing the play in the street afterwards. "I have absolutely no idea what I think about that," said one. "It was fucking brilliant," the other wisely declared. ®

The Nether is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre, London, until 25 April 2015.