Desire Lines walks a tightrope that explores the tension found in relationships, showing the dreamlike side of desire and the darker elements of craving for, and control of, something or someone.

The show has a repetitive, rhythmic entrance that promises an exploration of innermost yearning, a revolving question-answer that speaks of our motivations to commit and hang on to the very end.

Quickly a sense of discord emerges, jarring conversations had by disconnected bodies as they navigate the space between and negotiate a give and take that dissolves and reforms in patterns and variations.

The score is sparse and glitchy, reflective of the stop-start nature of the movements as the performers move through an evolving exploration of contained space and each other, at times cautious, other times seemingly aggressive and domineering. Rarely are the two in sync, yet when they do come together it’s a poetic expression of solidarity and quite beautiful.

There’s clever use of an underlay that serves as the platform on which movement and dance transpire, sometimes acting as a buoy, other times a medium, like deep water, from which there’s seemingly no escape for the entangled. Ultimately, the platform must be contained, perhaps signalling the end of a connection upon which two interconnected lives danced.

Desire Lines has much potential and the segments all carry a sense of undercurrent, of tension and untapped feeling, and yet the overall performance leaves questions unanswered.

Closure, like other elements in the show, is shrouded in ambiguity and open to interpretation. Do the performers feel love, or hatred? Burden or responsibility? The grey in the movements perhaps serves to underline the ambivalence that comes from the performers’ tenuous connection, danced upon a plastic shroud, a scaffold for life’s ups and downs, and moments of conflicted desire reserved only for one another.