Dance | MurleyDance Object of My Affection

One of the shows I’ve seen at this year’s Festival Fringe is MurleyDance Object of My Affection. Featuring the only professional ballet company at this year’s Fringe, I was really keen to experience something different to the usual line-up of stand-up shows I usually attend.

Made up of three acts, Object of My Affection  explores our relationship with material objects and our connections to people we haven’t even met. The first act, Seated, is based around 5 pieces of furniture from different eras and the connotations that they embody. A love seat divides a passionate but fractious couple; a pair of thrones invoke a power struggle; a 1950s bar stool is flirtatious and rebellious; an armchair forms the central part of a family home and a piece of flat pack IKEA furniture conquers all. For me, this was delightfully and unexpectedly humorous – who knew that ballet could be funny?!

The second act, A Une Passante, took a more serious turn. Focussing on two people who pass but don’t meet, they imagine a passionate affair with sadness that this will never be. The dancers really capture and communicate the emotion of this glancing moment even to a dance novice like me. The last act, Into Decay, featured projected images, electro music and quick choreography that makes for a high-energy finale. As it explored people’s reliance on technology I would have liked to see more interaction with the projections but this is probably my affinity to the moving image showing itself!

I’m a newbie to the world of dance, only having attended a few shows previously but I do know that I really enjoyed this one. It felt accessible, engaging and emotive and I really connected to each of the stories that were being told.

The show takes place at Greenside at Nicholson Square which is a fantastically intimate space for a show like this and a rare chance to see professional ballet up close. It is on until the 23rd of the month and tickets are available here. The company will also be doing a UK tour later in the year.