Ha Ha Da Vinci ***

There's probably a clue in the title of a production entitled Ha Ha Da Vinci, isn’t there?

We all know a little about Leonardo da Vinci: creator of Mona Lisa, the world’s most famous painting, whose iconic status transcends the art world and has become a byword for enigma itself, lending its name to, amongst others, a Nat King Cole song and a Bob Hoskins film. Yet fusing art and science, Da Vinci was so much more – architect, palaeontologist, sculptor and engineer – the list goes on. He astonishingly sketched crude designs for what we came to know as submarines and helicopters. He also conceptualised a time machine, together with the mathematician Luca Pacioli.

The stage is symbolically and portentously set with an image of Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, being in itself a fusion of art and science, but moreover leaning into the idea of man’s exploration of his place in the universe.

The premise of the production is that our protagonist communicates with Da Vinci via a form of transistor radio and is transported back to Renaissance times. The only way she seems able to return to her own time is to solve a series of clues and play music.

What follows is a patchwork of stagecraft, including storytelling, puppetry, comedy, physical theatre, clowning, illusion, mathematics, singing, guitar and, strikingly, tuba playing.

The show is, of course, in part a homage to Da Vinci, but also seems to draw a little inspiration from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Pipia is a charming and engaging performer. Her talent is beyond question as she weaves her way through this frankly odd but entertaining and somewhat whimsical production. The impression it was difficult to shake off, however, is that Ha Ha Da Vinci is effectively a showcase for Pipia’s myriad and most impressive talents, rather than holding any meaningful narrative or conclusion for the audience.