The Nether opens Nov. 17

Tickets are free for CSC faculty, staff and students, $5 for adults and $3 for seniors. For tickets contact the CSC Box Office at 308-432-6207 or boxoffice@csc.edu. “Behind the Scenes,” produced by Daniel Binkard, features interviews with the actors.

The play opens with cyber officer, Detective Morris played by Molly Thornton, investigating an online prostitution realm known as the Hideaway.

“The Hideaway is a world that encourages living above consequence and doing what you want without there being any sort of repercussion. It’s morally challenging,” said Syerra Wycoff-Bagshaw, who plays Iris, while being interviewed for “Behind the Scenes,” produced by Daniel Binkard.

Samuel Thomas Martin is the operator of a digital recreation of a beautiful, vibrant Victorian brothel, in “The Nether,” appealing in contrast to the real world that is bleak.

“I’m really excited about this one. I expect to see a lot of our generation because we are so interested in virtual reality…. It’s not for the faint of heart,” said Martin.

Wacey Gallegos, who portrays Mr. Doyle, said the author, Jennifer Haley has written the play so that every word has meaning.

“It’s been sitting down and looking at the words…. What does this mean? Why am I saying it? If you can’t answer that and the audience doesn’t get it, it hurts the show quite a bit,” Gallegos said.

Haley delves into the ethics of virtual reality and the impact of technology on human relationships, identity and desire. She won the 2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for “The Nether,” produced in Los Angeles, off-Broadway, on London’s West End, across the U.S. and in Scandinavia, Germany, Turkey, Slovenia and Spain.

In a review by Ben Brantly, of ”The New York Times,” he said this futuristic detective play revolves around the investigation of a virtual reality space called the Hideaway, created by a science teacher who tries to safely live out his twisted fantasies.

"It’s a gray, gray tomorrow that greets us in ‘The Nether,’ Jennifer Haley’s very cunning and equally creepy new play about alternative lives in a future around the corner. Don’t forget that the physical forms we see in the Hideaway — including those of the children — are merely avatars,” wrote Brantly.