Play is dark and dangerous, if virtually so

Online fantasy drives the drama in Dobama’s intriguing ‘The Nether’

The prolonged, ear-splitting sound of cicadas during “Appropriate.” The spooky Civil War-era house with its creepy dead-eyed doll collection in “John.” The political-and-profane provocation that is “Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.”

Dobama Theatre seems to be daring an audience to attend its recent productions, including its current staging of Jennifer Haley’s “The Nether,” which received its world premiere in Los Angeles in 2013.

If you are appalled by the pedophilia that dominates the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland,” you will most certainly find yourself leaving alone “The Nether,” considering its central character is an unapologetic pedophile whose online business provides a safe haven and playground for like-minded clientele.

And if you sat dazed and confused over the concept of immersive virtual reality during “The Matrix” and “Inception,” you will find yourself slack-jawed and cross-eyed during Dobama’s 90-minute dark drama, set in a virtual wonderland called The Nether.

There are plenty of reasons not to see this play. But there are so many more reasons why you should. Despite its disturbing subject matter and scifi leanings, it is an absolutely intriguing thriller.

When it begins, and periodically throughout the evening, we witness Papa (Matthew Wright), the webmaster of a virtual realm called The Hideaway, and a frequent visitor of its evocative Victorian mansion, Doyle (David Peacock), being interrogated by a cyber police detective, Morris (Sarah Durn). She seeks to uncover the nature of the unpalatable fantasies played out there, the identity behind the avatar of the very young girl, Iris (Calista Zajac), who entertains the avatars of the adult guests such as Woodnut (Joe Pine), as well as the true intentions of the webmaster.

And we go along for the ride.

The rest of the play takes place in The Hideaway, where we are transported to an online world of limitless possibilities and no consequences — a world that makes our offline existence seem limited and lackluster.

Pedophilia is the dramatic hook that gets our attention and raises all sorts of big-item questions about the ethics that drive modern technology and the danger in our consumption of it. “The Nether” certainly is a story for our time, a time when virtual reality is beyond experimentation and the Federal Communications Commission is addressing internet neutrality and other pressing online policy issues.

And the storytelling in this Dobama production, under Shannon Sindelar’s direction, is astonishing.

The dark interrogation room consists of a bare stage with just two chairs against a colorless windowed wall. When it transitions to a virtual Victorian bordello, a light scans the space that sets into motion the illumination of the wall’s decorative wainscoting and the accessing of a computer program that generates a colorful, tree-filled landscape outside the windows. Designers Patrick Rizzotti (scenic), Marcus Dana (lighting) and T. Paul Lowry (projection) keep the stage bare to remind us that this virtual world — augmented with ambient sound by Jeremy Dobbins and period costuming by Inda Blatch-Geib — is just an illusion.

While the role of Papa is built to make your skin crawl, Wright manages to serve up a most relatable and likable pedophile who, by his own admission, is “cursed with compulsion” as well as insight into his illness. Peacock’s middle-aged science teacher, Doyle, is made similarly complex and compelling. While the character all too easily could be depicted as despicable and one-dimensional, the actor provides Doyle with a convincingly pitiful physicality and a wealth of intelligence.

Durn’s Detective Morris is saddled with all the exposition early in the play, which she delivers with unswerving determination and the central-casting cadence of a TV police procedural. This makes the baring of her soul late in the play all the more remarkable.

Zajac displays astounding acting chops as the avatar Iris. She manages Papa’s online obsession and Woodnut’s affection — delicately handled by Pine — like a pro. You may remember her from the Beck Center for the Art’s outrageously campy production of “Ruthless,” where she played an 11-year-old sociopath opposite the classically trained Wright in drag.

“The Nether” is a daring, gripping and well-crafted piece of writing that is exceptionally performed and beautifully staged. It is an engaging work that should not be missed.

STEVE WAGNER PHOTOGRAPHY Calista Zajac, as Iris, and Matthew Wright, as Papa, perform in the Dobama Theatre production of “The Nether.”