Dance review: Our Soldier, Zoo (Venue 124), Edinburgh

TRYING to break into journalism at her local paper, Alice Coggins is thrilled to be sent to a war zone. But when we first see her, our heroine has clearly come a cropper.

Our Soldier

Zoo (Venue 124)

Star rating: * * *

Interrogation tactics are being used, which although delivered through light-hearted physicality, have a clear undercurrent of brutality.

Relatively new on the scene, Fools Play Collective has figured out how to drip-feed an audience to keep them interested. What exactly has Coggins seen or heard that makes her such a threat to national security?

As the answer slowly comes, the narrative moves in and out of focus. At times, emphasis is given over to look, rather than content – such as a visually strong scene where three characters wear suitcases for heads. Which is fine, unless it comes at the expense of the story, as it sometimes does here.

Running alongside the modern-day story, are elements of Macbeth, with key characters and aspects of Shakespeare’s tale peppered throughout – although to what end? Our Soldier was devised and written by the company, and it shows. For this is a potentially strong work, crying out for some dramaturgical input.

• Until 25 August. Today 3pm.