Provocative, brilliant ‘Nether’ world at S.F. Playhouse

The cast of The Nether. From L-R: Doyle (Louis Parnell), Iris (Matilda Holtz), Morris (Ruibo Qian), Sims/Papa (Warren David Keith), Woodnut (Josh Schell), Iris (Carmen Steele). Note: the role of Iris will be played by Matilda Holtz and Carmen Steele in alternating performances. Photo credit: Jessica Palopoli less The cast of The Nether. From L-R: Doyle (Louis Parnell), Iris (Matilda Holtz), Morris (Ruibo Qian), Sims/Papa (Warren David Keith), Woodnut (Josh Schell), Iris (Carmen Steele). Note: the role of Iris will be ... more Photo: Jessica Palopoli Photo: Jessica Palopoli Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Provocative, brilliant ‘Nether’ world at S.F. Playhouse 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

Jennifer Haley is a brave, bold playwright. In her hit drama “The Nether,” now in a stunning production at San Francisco Playhouse, she pushes audiences right to the edge, making them question the horror they’re seeing and challenging them to believe it could be true.

Haley has crafted a piece of theatrical science fiction that works astonishingly well straddling two realities. Theater itself is already a kind of virtual reality, so it’s the perfect place for Haley’s futuristic tale of a world where trees barely exist anymore and more and more people (called “shades”) are living their lives inside a more evolved Internet known as “the nether,” where lifelike communities are formed and imaginations (and morals and laws) are unbound.

This is a tricky, provocative 80-minute drama that could outrage audiences except that it’s so intelligently crafted that fascination trumps shock in this story of authorities going after the creators of a virtual world in which adults, adhering to Victorian dress and custom, interact with children who are then sexually abused and murdered (only to be regenerated by the program in a never-ending cycle).

As sick as that sounds, keep in mind that none of it’s real — it’s consensual role playing among adults who pay to be there (or, in the case of the “children,” adults who are employed by the virtual reality creators).

But where is the line that separates a free imagination and a crime? Is there such a thing as action with no consequence, even in a so-called virtual world? As one character says, “Just because it’s virtual doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

Haley’s drama, which flips between a police interrogation room and scenes from the idyllic (if profoundly creepy) “Victorian” community, asks all kinds of questions about who we are and how we are tasked with controlling our reality, be it in this world or via the technology we create.

Director Bill English surrounds Haley’s play with a taut, unforgiving production that is impeccably acted by a cast that includes Warren David Keith and Louis Parnell as men whose proclivities have led them into a troubling place, and Ruibo Qian and Josh Schell as dedicated (and vulnerable) detectives.

Perhaps the biggest impression is made by the young actor playing Iris, the Victorian girl who becomes a favorite of online visitors to her realm. At the opening-night performance on Saturday, Jan. 23, the role was played by Carmen Steele, who alternates performances with Matilda Holtz. That Steele, a sixth-grader, is so good in the part, finding a balance between a child’s innocence and a more adult sensibility, only makes the play that much more unnerving.

Nina Ball’s revolving set is the show’s other star, flipping the action from the real world to the virtual world with miraculous precision.

It’s unlikely you’ve seen anything like “The Nether,” where nothing is quite what it seems, but where just about everything, one way or another, is astonishing.

Chad Jones is a Bay Area theater critic and writer.

The Nether: Provocative drama. By Jennifer Haley. Directed by Bill English. Through March 5. $20-$120. San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post St., S.F. 80 minutes. (415) 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org.