Award-winning theatre-maker, producer and performer, Bron Batten, returns to FRINGE WORLD in 2020 to put love under lights in her hilariously awkward and unexpectedly intimate show Onstage Dating.

Deeply single and ready to mingle, Batten kicks off the show with a glowing performance which leaves half the audience in hysterics and half feeling anxious about what is to come.

Batten then shares some of her own horror dating experiences, many of which stemming from a long and unprosperous relationship with online apps and #swipelife.

Batten is quick-witted, entertaining and personable, she’s confident and knows how to make everyone in the audience feel relatively comfortable. Except, perhaps, the unknowing person who’s about to take the stage.

The concept for this show is simple: an unsuspecting audience enters a low-lit venue. Before entering, the extraverts of the audience have volunteered to complete a questionnaire consisting of straightforward questions ranging from height, age and star sign to their preference of milk or dark chocolate and their all-time favourite song.

A self-confessed masochist, Batten then selects her ideal match and they are brought on stage for a first date. For the next 45 minutes, Batten guides her date through psychologist Arthur Aron’s famous “fall-in-love questions”, which are designed to increase the level of intimacy between two people and are thought to build a foundation of love.

This show is raw, real, unscripted and completely unique. Audience members can watch from the safety of their seat, or sign up to be part of the action. Batton is respectful and considerate, and gives her dates the opportunity to say “no” to continuing their dating journey – there’s no need to schedule a fake emergency phone call from a best friend to get out of this one.

Batten has an endearing persona and has mastered the ability of making the most awkward situations even more awkward, all while showing dignity, remaining relaxed and holding control.

This show is perfect for your next date night, although it comes with a warning: don’t secretively sign your significant other up to participate if you’re not comfortable with them getting intimate with another person on a live stage. The risk of love is real.