IVF

1m, 1w, 1 either
1m 20-30; 1w 20-30; 1 either any age (plays 3m 40s, 1w 50-60, 1w teen)

IVF is a comic whodunit concerning child abuse, told with the leavening comedy of human-size puppets. Nathan and Jana Lloyd are new parents, and in the depths of post-partum depression, Jana has attempted suicide. In her treatment, it comes out that Jana was seriously abused as a child and suffered from multiple personalities. When Jana's baby is abused in the same way, a search begins to determine who committed the abuse and when.

Aside from Jana and Nathan, the cast consists of a puppeteer who plays the parts of five characters – a nosy female neighbor, a psychiatrist, a doctor, a teenage babysitter, and an impatient policeman. The puppets are life-sized rag dolls that are tossed on and off stage when the puppeteer is not actively controlling them. There is also a sixth puppet, a non-speaking police sergeant.

The setting is quite simple – a sofa and chair that variously represent a living room, a psychiatrist's office, a hospital waiting room, and a police examination room. Production requirements suit the show to tiny stages.

While the story of IVF is serious and contains some of the trappings of a thriller, the comic puppeteer cuts the seriousness of the subject matter to make it palatable to a general adult audience. Some of the puppet characters can be converted to human characters if desired.