The Origins of Ivor Punch (A Play, a Pie and Pint), Traverse

Any show that allows the audience to take their seats to the sounds of Lau's magnificent first album is off to a strong start in my reckoning, so I was already in fine mood before the actors took their places.  The action, set on the island of Mull, switches between the present day and the 1860s.  Twenty first century police sergeant Ivor Punch (Andrew John Tait) is out on a stormy night with friend and joker Randy (Tom McGovern) when they encounter a fey young woman in the dark.  She says little and vanishes mysteriously near the cliff, leading Ivor to question not only who she was, but also his own place in life.

A century and a half before the woman is revealed to be the gentile Henrietta Bird (Eva Traynor), sister of famed explorer Isabella, and admired, distantly, by tongue tied postman Duncan Punch.  A romance shyly develops between them, but there is a tragic ending to their love.  There are cameo appearances from Isabella, and Charles Darwin, emphasising the evolution of lives, and why the modern day Ivor owes something of himself to the fateful relationship of his ancestor.  (The three cast members all double up on the roles.)

It's often fun, generally enjoyable despite the odd cringeworthy joke, but the connections between the two periods are tenuous.  Darwin feels like a heavy handed device too.  But the performances are strong, doing enough to overcome the failings of the script to provide an entertaining fifty minutes.  Maybe a subject better suited to a full length format?