(Ash Searle & Vanessa
Harris)
Quintessential examination is hilarious, cheeky, sometimes
naughty, but never offensive. (Review by Keith Millar)
Love at First Fight,
which was seen at the Hilton Arts Festival last weekend, bills itself as a
“Romantic Dance Comedy”. It certainly is all that. It is tummy-achingly funny,
the dance is superbly athletic and creative, and it contains plenty of
heart-warming romance.
It could also easily be billed as “The Battle of the Sexes”
or “Women Are from Venus and Men Are from Mars”. Or, for that matter, any of
the other clichés which are used to highlight the differences, and
similarities, between males and females. The production is the quintessential
examination of this subject and it is hilarious, cheeky, sometimes naughty, but
never offensive.
Love At First Fight
is created by Follow Spot Productions, the same team which is responsible for
the Big Boys series. As a result, it
obviously bears the same stamp. This time, however, Ash Searle is joined by his
wife in real life, the bubbly, vivacious and rather sexy Vanessa Harris.
There is no sign of Brad in the story and the only
appearance he makes is via a voice heard on a cellphone. Even then he is able
to mess things up and cause chaos.
In the story, the couple are about to celebrate the
anniversary of their first date and Ash thinks it would a good time to propose
marriage to Vanessa. He plans a rather unique and different date in keeping
with the fashion of unusual marriage proposals. He asks his brother Brad to
organise fireworks and peace Doves which will fly in a heart formation. Bad
Mistake. Brad lets off the fireworks at the wrong time and the Doves are
replaced by a bunch of Hadedas.
During the course of the show many of the classic areas of
contention between couples are looked at. All with tongue firmly in cheek. For
example, she asks while getting dressed “Do you think my Bum looks big in
this?” They argue about the venue of their first date. He tries to explain the
rules of rugby to her. She criticises his bathroom habits (her dance called the
Toothbrush Tango to the music of Chicago’s
Cell Block Tango is hilarious).
And, like all good rom-coms this one, too, has a happy
ending.
Searle and Harris are an excellent team. They show wonderful
synergy and understanding in their performances. Both are outstanding dancers
and they deliver superb high octane dance acrobatics. They are also fine comics
and they squeeze every laugh out of the dialogue.
This is a show not to be missed if ever you have the
opportunity. As I have said before about Big
Boys, maybe some clever promoter will bring this show to Durban so that we
may also enjoy these entertainment gems. – Keith Millar
For more information on the annual Hilton Arts Festival
visit https://www.hiltonfestival.co.za
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