‘Waterloo’ grabs our attention like an action movie: with violence and explosions. Actual explosions! But this is performance art that makes you think as much as it makes you jump. Bron Batten never lets us get comfortable – she asks (and presses us to answer) difficult moral questions, and has audience members participate in increasingly risky ways. Like her previous hit (‘Onstage Dating’, where she brought an audience member on stage for the entirety) ‘Waterloo’ relies on Bron Batten’s greatest skill: her hawk-like responsiveness to the audience. Moments of tension, vulnerability, and humour are deadly weapons in her hands. ‘Waterloo’ also unleashes her formidable talent as a writer, in an irresistibly adrenaline-fuelled tale of eroticism, ethics and crossing political enemy lines.

Summerhall, until 29 Aug.
tw rating 5/5 | [Bizz Holmes]