The play is set in the near future. The internet has evolved into the Nether, a vast network of virtual reality realms. Users may log in, choose an identity, and indulge any desire. When Detective Morris investigates a realm called The Hideaway where pedophiles may live out their fantasies involving children, she brings its creator in for interrogation. They discover they have made emotional attachments in his realm that blind them to the greater questions of ethical behavior, both in the imagination and the outside world.
Characters
Detective Morris: head of the investigation of The Hideaway
Sims/Papa: creator of The Hideaway
Doyle: an older man who has a connection to The Hideaway
Iris: young girl who works at The Hideaway
Woodnut: a frequent visitor at The Hideaway
Production history
The world premiere at Center Theatre Group was directed by Neel Keller. It won 7 Ovation Awards for design, acting, and Playwriting for an Original Play.[1] Headlong and the Royal Court produced The Nether in London in 2014, with Jeremy Herrin directing. In 2015 the show transferred to the West End’s Duke of York’s Theatre, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Scott M. Delman and Tulchin Bartner Productions, and was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Play. Manhattan Class Company produced the play in New York City in 2015, with Anne Kauffman directing. Truman State University produced the show in fall 2015. San Francisco Playhouse produced the play in January 2016, as did the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company of Washington D.C. in April 2016, and the Alley Theatre in May 2016. More recently it was performed at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis and at the Seymour Centre of Sydney, Australia, both in September/October 2017, as well as the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA outside of Boston in June 2018.