David Bloom won鈥檛 hold it against you if you don鈥檛 see his new play.
Wait for Godot or see if the salesman lives this time and you鈥檒l risk no ill will from the former Capilano University acting instructor.
鈥淚f this subject is a subject you don鈥檛 want to deal with,鈥� he explains in a baritone that sounds closer to Downton Abbey than Downtown Vancouver, 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to be offended if you don鈥檛 come see this.鈥�
But if you鈥檙e willing to slink through slimy realms that lurk like fallen continents in the shadows of the online world, The Nether may be a play for you.
In the near future (how near depends on how quickly technology evolves and how thoroughly we evolve with it) the Internet has been regulated, rebranded and transformed into a pleasure palace populated by indulging avatars. Behind one of those virtual doors is The Hideaway.
The Hideaway caters to pedophiles.
鈥淲hat are you afraid of? Violence? Porn?鈥� Bloom demands in his role as Sims.
Sims, who also goes by (shudder) Papa, is the proprietor of the fully tactile virtual world.
When he was about halfway through his first read of the script, Bloom recalls the phrase 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I can do this鈥� running through his mind.
鈥淚 was just disturbed by the subject,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not my first pedophile,鈥� he remarks, referring to roles in film and the TV show Cold Squad.
But as he read further, Bloom found himself enamoured by Jennifer Haley鈥檚 dialogue, which he found simultaneously compassionate and ruthless in its treatment of its characters.
Sims defends The Hideaway articulately and convincingly. After elaborating on pornography鈥檚 role at the vanguard of technological innovation, he argues that his creation allows pedophiles to 鈥渂low off steam.鈥�
The world of The Nether is a bleak one and part of The Hideaway鈥檚 allure is that it offers scarce items like trees and gardens.
Once in The Hideaway, the avatars must comport themselves in a 鈥渜uasi-Victorian鈥� manner, resulting in elevating what was already elevated dialogue.
The combination of beauty and danger is marbled into the dialogue, as Sims describes the urges inherent in sentient beings in one breath and accusing his interrogator of attaining carnal knowledge of a dwarf in a fantasy realm in the next.
鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like [Judith Thompson] and George Bernard Shaw had a love child,鈥� Bloom says of Haley. 鈥淏y the time I got to the end I just thought, 鈥業 cannot not do this.鈥欌��
As a parent, his first reaction to a pedophile tends to be 鈥渒ill the monster,鈥� but Bloom says Haley鈥檚 work gave him pause.
鈥淚t actually made me think a little bit about what a horrific thing it would be to have that condition and to know it was wrong.鈥�
Haley is interested in consent, imagination and 鈥� as we鈥檝e wondered since the first joystick jockey announced he was dead after losing a video game 鈥� the inherent reality of the virtual sphere.
Bloom discusses the benefits of playing Sims again after his first trip to The Nether at the 2016 Fringe Festival.
In one scene, director Chris Lam (a former student of Bloom鈥檚) notes Bloom should be saying, 鈥淣o. I don鈥檛,鈥� rather than, 鈥淣o, I don鈥檛.鈥�
It鈥檚 seemingly insignificant, but that subtle change in rhythm and inflection created a chill where there wasn鈥檛 one before, he says.
Still, Bloom says he understands people who are reluctant as his own son was hesitant to see the play.
鈥淲ho wants to see their father being a pedophile?鈥� he asks.
But while his son was disturbed by what he saw, it was in a far different way than he anticipated, Bloom reports.
鈥淵ou will be surprised at when you care,鈥� he says. 鈥淸There鈥檚 a] tremendous light of beauty in the darkness of this play. And even a couple of surprising laughs.鈥�
The Nether at the Firehall Arts Centre until Jan. 28. For more information, visit .
