The Nether

by Jennifer Haley

The Nether, a daring examination of moral responsibility in virtual worlds, opens with a familiar interrogation scene given a technological twist. As Detective Morris, an online investigator, questions Mr. Sims about his activities in a role-playing realm so realistic it could be life, she finds herself on slippery ethical ground. Sims argues for the freedom to explore even the most deviant corners of our imagination. Morris holds that we cannot flesh out our malign fantasies without consequence. Their clash of wills leads to a consequence neither could have imagined. Suspenseful, ingeniously constructed, and fiercely intelligent, Haley’s play forces us to confront deeply disturbing questions about the boundaries of reality.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, Fiction, Science Fiction, School, Womens

74 pages, Paperback

First published August 7, 2014

Reviews

[Craig Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nicely realized play about the ambiguities of life inside the "internet," which Haley renames the "nether" to emphasize the demonic elements set free by divorcing physical and virtual experience. This is a hobby horse of mine, so she was preaching to the choir but her sermon winds up more nuanced and complicated than it probably would have been had I been in charge. The issues won't be a surprise to anyone who's thought about technology: virtual violence, pornography, the multi-leveled question of ethics and responsibility. But there's a nice theatrical conceit at the center, and some lyrically searching passages, especially near the conclusion. I'd really like to see it staged.

[claire:) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hated it. but… I loved it.
this play is very disturbing and yet so interesting I couldn’t stop reading it even though I was scared to read more.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intellectually intriguing, well-written play about the moral responsibilities that come with online game/role playing. My only qualm is that much of the play consists of two characters interacting while seated across from each other across a table - which makes for rather a static play visually. But how can you NOT love a play containing the line: "[You're] so pure you never even f*cked an elf."

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

the internet was a mistake

[Morgentau Haltestelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

what the fuck did I just read
the internet can be such a dark place and this play showed that so well

[Joe Labriola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forcing readers to consider the consequences humankind’s growing integration into the realm of virtual-internet-reality, “The Nether” by Jennifer Haley presents some daunting philosophical and moral questions that are sure to arise in even greater detail in our near-future.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moody rumination on the ethics of the internet with great latitude for staging possibilities and a fascinating central conceit.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

it wasn't bad, it just wasn't... good. I imagine it'd be better on a stage, definitely not designed to be read. tries to tackle tough subject matter but just kinda... doesn't??

[Max Heimowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's incredible what we have done using the materials of the earth. Not only have we built roads and cities, but we have created tools for our imagination.

As much as I am creeped out by Jennifer Haley's The Nether, I'm drawn to it. It is by no means a comfortable journey. But I found the questions asked fascinating. The technology, intriguing. And the characters, multi-layered.

The "nether" is an alternate form of reality. Virtual realities, composed of multiple realms, places, and locations, are accessible to all users. They may login and indulge in their desires. Detective Morris is investigating one such reality, "The Hideaway," questioning its creator, Sims, and a few of its users. Papa runs "The Hideaway," where users may engage in their pedophilic (and murder-y) fantasies, without the repercussions of the real world. We get a glimpse of this with Iris, a young girl living in this virtual reality, along with Woodnut and Doyle.

However, the virtual connections reach into the real world. Emotional connections span the two "realities," the "real" reality and the "virtual" reality. But how dissimilar are these two entities? Does acting upon urges in a virtual space remove the consequence of your actions from the real world? I'll admit, Haley's example in this play takes things to the! Extreme! But nonetheless, it is an extremely fascinating, albeit challenging subject to explore. And however twisted, disturbing, and gross it may have been, I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience.

It's all about ethics, behavior, and the internet, with a strange but intriguing premise. If you want to ask yourselves questions you may have never asked yourself before--and in this case, leave in a state of befuddlement that doesn't necessarily annoy you, because of how real it feels?--then pick up this play and give it a shot. Of all the pedophile/violence related plays I've read in the past week, this one was the most compelling. Not every part was incredible, but I believe it was well done.

[Joey Maiden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hated reading that…but most good theater isn’t supported to make you comfortable. This play is very well written and has an interesting take on the future of vertical reality and the internet. With the rise of AI this play asks the hard questions about what could possibly happen in the future if we aren’t careful. However with all that being said this show is definitely upsetting. Be warned, please read the trigger warnings for this play before you decide to read it or see a production.

[Nick K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard hitting issues of morality and psychosis. It would have been better if the characters were more three dimensional (but maybe she intended it to be that way). Still, a good play that asks tough questions.

[nico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fucked up

[Kylie Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What in the actual fuck did I just read? 🤯 So many ethical questions & dilemmas, I am shook.

[Andreea · Rating 5 out of 5]

My God, this has to be the most unique thing I've read in a long time.
I wish there was any way for me to see this live on a stage.

[Daria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for my uni application lol
Interesting sci-fi play that makes the reader question their own morals at some point, asks all the right questions always in questionable ways

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very provocative... Deals with sexual boundaries and the ideal of living, killing, and copulating in an online world known in this realm as the Nether. Reminded me of Sword Art Online, in which Kirito spends most of his time in the game world, and No Game No Life, for the same reason. To think that a future for our society -- seeing how much time we spend today on social media and the Internet, which has grown so vast -- to spend most of our waking hours in a virtual world, and lose our natural balance of self. For in a virtual world, we have avatars that may be entirely different personalities than those we have in the real world. However, what is reality? Is it defined by pure sensation? Or is it merely real because any other worlds are created within?

Which leads to the huge moral question posed in The Nether. Say you molested children in the "real" world -- you would be condemned to imprisonment, most likely; but if you did the same in a virtual world, in which children may be adults behind the screens, is it still morally reprehensible? If the "victimized" user feels the same sensations, albeit not as profound as those in the "real" world, but he or she as the avatar is going along with it by choice, is it wrong?

I shudder to think how virtual our world may become in the future, as more and more of everyday life is being transferred to the new platform that we call the Internet. We can already have avatars online, and with the recent innovations like Oculus Rift and similar virtual reality facilitators, I fear that we will spend more and more of our time in a nether world. A world that may be run by different rules, different customs, different unspoken zeitgeists. To forebode, in fact, an entirely second world to the "real" world, a world where our people can in fact "cross over," or actually move mind to wholly, like Sully does in the film Avatar. Would it then be possible to do full mind transfer, that is, to completely depart from our physical vessels here and move mind and soul into a virtual realm?

I did read this for my writing seminar "Remembering the Future," and based on the summary it's not something I would read on my own volition. However, it's a good read, and makes you think and wonder about the future. I find myself thinking about the future quite often nowadays. What will society be like in a thousand years, if we are still inhabiting this planet? Or wherever we dwell? I am beginning to appreciate the artistry of plays more, and am beginning to consider pursuing more plays for leisure reading besides those by Shakespeare or whoever wrote those magnificently written works.

Will it be possible to utterly redefine, reify, the world we know today to a virtual now become real one? In other words, to make the entire world digital?

[Michael Galvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Jennifer Haley’s The Nether, I have come to the conclusion that the major moral problem the play poses is can virtual reality have a major impact on our human personalities?
It is hard to believe that Haley’s vision for virtual reality could be possible but I do not think it is impossible. Maybe not to the dramatic scale in The Nether but as technology advances in the digital age we live in, I do not see why something like this would not exists later on. I feel weird saying that but I wouldn’t be surprised if something like “The Hideway” were to be created. The concept that an individual could be anonymous and make an avatar, or “shade”, created with the fundamental elements of a body, including gender, age, etc could happen to fulfill whatever desires they could have.
I do not find Sims’ reasoning that “The Hideaway” protects people from pedophiles sound at all. I find it hard to believe that Sims is rational or sane when he confesses to Morris, at this moment in the play Sims has taken accountability for being “sick”. Creating this virtual space allows him to fulfill all of his pedophiliac urges. Even though this is virtual he is still exposing himself to the “shade” of young girls and taking advantage of them.
I found the epilogue of The Nether to be almost awkward and uncomfortable. Once we as the readers/ audience find out Doyle was really Iris this whole time it makes for an interesting dynamic with Sims. You see these two grown men having flirty conversations with each other without truly knowing who each other are in reality. I guess that happens when we have back and forth conversations with strangers on social media or dating apps but watching this play out after knowing Doyle, an old man, took on the form of a young girl left me unsettled.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

“But if there has been no consequence, there has been no meaning—no meaning between her and myself, between myself and myself—and if there has been meaning, then I am a monster.”

This has been sitting on my shelf for a solid year now — a few times I tried to start it and set it down again because the clunky exposition threw me a bit (sorry for the 4 star but I Cannot Read). SO glad I saw it through to the end this time. I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this piece but it went in such different directions than I could have imagined and I was at times baffled, at times repulsed, at times sympathetic, and always looking to the next scene. It kept me on my toes and turning the page, only stopping to go back and review past scenes in a new context.

As far as the staging, it’s vivid with potential, but even thinking about putting it on raises SO many questions, first and foremost regarding casting ethics for Iris. Can this ever be a role fit for child actors? What precautions must be taken? What nuance does the casting of a child OR an adult bring out, and how can these questions be addressed in a performance? There are no simple answers in place, no strict guidelines to follow, and grappling with these issues—whether in the audience or behind the scenes—only serves to enhance the present themes.

It’s not a piece I would recommend to everyone, but it’s a piece I would recommend to anyone interested in the subject matter who feels confident engaging with the content.

[Yourfiendmrjones · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing play that takes on morality, ethics and the search for identity on the internet through a very dark prism. I'm not sure if I could ever stage it but I am sure it's one of the best pieces of theater I've ever read.

[alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

An idea need not be new to be exciting, nor a moral quandary virgin to spark insight. Sexual deviance, pedophilia, intrinsic self-hood, and virtual reality yield complexity worth re-investigating, re-imagining, and re-considering; for these realities are ever in their re-making.

[zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

"who are we when we 'interact' without consequences?"
"how can you, in good conscience, infect people with this content?"
"you cannot know how much i love you."

ohhhh wow. surprisingly, as someone who's grown up more or less chronically online up until 2025, nothing about the events of this play shocked me. this is happening now, not just "soon" as the play claims. SA, pedophilia, and incest simulators have been found and shut down. they have made headlines, and there is no doubt that there are more to be found in darker places on the web. minds are being polluted on the daily. the normalization of these violent, degrading, and deeply misogynistic kinks is a disease that has infected us all and, notably, increased violence against women in the real world.

"the nether" is a great introduction to this concept for those blind to it (and there are many who are deeply naive). it does raise some intellectually thoughtful questions about whether it's "safe" or not to indulge in dark desires in a virtual realm as opposed to the real world (and if a virtual getaway such as the nether provides a true place to be one's "true self"). this was too interesting to put down, and i finished it in one night. that being said, it didn't raise anything that i hadn't personally thought about before.

i almost wish this had a bit more length to it. i wanted to see a bit more of the indulgences of the hideaway, but i suppose enough was carefully revealed. some nice twists and turns along the way and this is definitely a good conversation starter, but it didn't go all the way for me. it is very commendable to be able to design a piece centering around such a taboo topic, and i would love to see this live just to feel the general discomfort in the room that comes with its reckoning. i have to wonder how the scene changes between the real world, the nether, and its inhabitants are managed.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Trigger warnings: this is a play about peodphiles and contains graphic child abuse.**

I saw this play performed at the Oxford Playhouse a few years ago and haven't been able to stop thinking about it - and horrifying people by describing it to them enthusiastically. I downloaded it tonight in order to read it at some point, and suddenly I've read the whole thing and my brain is churning.

I would describe this as a thought experiment in the extreme. Technology and ethical quandry make a montruous duo that you can't forget and can't solve and can't forgive. The real kicker to this play is that there is no solution, no final answer or winning ethical standpoint. Just as in real life.

I'm obsessed with thinking about how to stage this play. I only have vague memories of how they staged it at the Playhouse, which in my humble opinion means they didn't do a good enough job. I think there's a sweet spot in this play between making sure reality and the Hideaway are shown as overlapping and blurring, but also maintaining the sense of isolated "otherness" which is what makes people feel so safe in Papa's world. I'm a big believer in 'less is more' when it comes to set and props, and there's some real subtle stuff you could do here. A lot of it could be done with lighting, but I'm sure there are creative ways to mark subtle similarities in the costumes of the Nether characters and their 'real life' counterparts....... Oh, the food for thought! ✨

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reflection on the technological age that humans emerge themselves within, as they seek to find escapism and indulge within their deepest desires in the life of the internet or "nether". It is a reflection on human life, delving into philosophical and physological elements of the human condition. A lot of Haley's work focuses upon this aspect in conjunction with the technological age according to 'about the author' page prior to the play, which is an interesting topic that provides a lot of food for thought. Uncomfortable to read at times given the subject of child pornography, however Haley's provides the picture of the nether being a place to escape and indulge within these deepest desires alongside others - much like the internet. Although through the interrogations scenes Haley shows that our imaginations and fantasies are never private especially when shared in the nether which shows the relationship between humans and technology and the dangers one another posesses.

[Lily Xu · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I realized what this play was about, I was horrified and only pushed through because i thought, how many more pages could there really be?? This was lucky because I really was a sucker for the twist! and physically put down my kindle and “ooooh”-ed! (my book club was not as taken so maybe I’m just gullible).

With that said, not the most innovative sci-fi I’ve read. Quite light actually. And it used a very well-trod setting… a Ready Player One-esque immersion metaverse. In fact Cyrus guessed the plot immediately after I told him it was set in the metaverse and was about pedophilia, so there’s that too.

A few other nits:
- I felt like the detective was written poorly! Her arguments were terrible (“the nether is bad” because my dad ignored me growing up? come on!) and she seems to have no remorse when her “suspect” does something that should’ve affected her deeply!!!
- The epilogue was lazy.
- Using pedophilia as the moral crime was lazy.

[Michael Salmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

So about three weeks ago I auditioned for a part in the New Zealand Premier of this show which is happening around April next year. The audition consisted of people being paired up in front of the producer to do a cold read.

I knew nothing about the show before hand so you can imagine my surprise as I started reading, many times I was thinking something along the lines of 'holy shit'.

After the audition I immediately purchased the kindle edition so I could read the whole thing and wow. This is meant to be a 90 minute play. The amount of twists and reveals packed into this is unreal. It's a thought provoking piece that doesn't choose to fall on either side of the subject at hand, leaving the audience to make up their own mind.

Easy five stars for this script.

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of "Black Mirror," the techno-dystopian anthology series that looks at the social fallout of possible innovations the future could bring. Jennifer Haley, whose earlier tech-nightmare play "Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom" was a somewhat divisive look at online gaming, ramps things up considerably by taking a look at social interactions in-world and online once virtual reality and actual reality have become nearly indistinguishable. Do violent acts in a video game make you a violent person, or do degenerate role-play fantasies make you a real-life pervert? Haley's play explores these modern philosophical questions, while throwing in a number of twists in an admirably "Black-Mirror-esque" way.

[Jacob Lehman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this after being asked to choreograph the violence for it. The characters are more articulate about their philosophical approaches than feels entirely believable, but the story raises some interesting questions (though it alludes to more complicating elements than it directly addresses). The "twists" didn't seem to add much to the plot- I'm not a good enough writer to do a better job, but there are certainly those who could have done more with it. I was quite shocked by Haley's recommendation that Isis be played by an actual child; I may err on the side of over-caution, but asking a child to grapple with the darkness in this plot strikes me as being questionable in terms of psychological ethics.

[Virginia Gresham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though the premise was deceptively simple, and neither an entirely novel or unimaginable setting to explore, the play was still haunting in the best way. The plotting was somewhat predictable, and Haley doesn't offer any groundbreaking or complex positions to answer the questions of the ethics or reality and virtual being. Yet, in the clearness of the writing and in shying away from offering her own mediation of morals or existentialism, she leaves the play open and unsettled. In its bareness, The Nether offers a disturbing world and does nothing to keep the concerns it provokes from troubling you well after you've finished.

[Gayathri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am going to shelf this under 'book about a difficult topic' for my Popsugar Reading Challenge and I'd be thoroughly justified. Not only does the play deal with the morality behind calling some loves 'wrong' (such as paedophilia) it also necessarily questions are ideas of what is Virtual and what is Real. And in a world where these two concepts are rapidly conflating on each other, the play becomes highly relevant.
It's a slim work, but not a quick read- especially if you pause to consider all of the arguments it makes.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished this quick play in about 15 minutes (which, you can debate is difficult to really digest something tangible if you speed run it) but anyways, I loved Jennifer Haley's Neighborhood 3 and I think this is such an interesting concept that I'm surprised Black Mirror didn't touch upon it.

It feels like Jennifer just barely touched upon the surface and instead of making it philosophical and an interesting debate, let it get to a reveal/twist and it being somewhat cliche and mediocre. But then again, perhaps I should have spent more time than just 15 minutes on it.