Mischief, (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

On a remote Scottish island in centuries past, Ronnat and daughter Brigid live alone, tending their cows and making butter.  Their sole contact with the outside world is the boatman who comes over from the monastery on the larger neighbouring island, bringing the women scanty supplies and leaving with milk, butter and the occasional cow.  It's a hard life, but keeps them alive and safe.

When a stranger, Fari, is washed up on the beach their world view takes a knock, and becomes ever more complex when Fari becomes their regular boatman.  He appears to be falling into line with the authoritarian orthodoxies of the monks, but his relationship to the two women changes him and them.

Their unnatural isolation is both a sense of security and a source of frustration, their lives dictated to them by the men over the water and the changing seasons.  But being shut away from the world can't dampen natural curiosity and desires.  Whilst some bonds are unbreakable, change is inevitable, and boundaries are there to be pushed against.

An intriguing script raises issues of loneliness, belonging and human need.  With some doses of the mysticism of the time.  At times bleak, there are a few lighter moments to keep things moving.  Time flows swiftly, but is never confusing.  All three actors give excellent performances, with Elspeth Turner standing out as the protective mother.

An enjoyably thoughtful piece of theatre.