Trials, tribulations and frustrations - Love at First Fight

As there are only 78 seats in the theatre, shows are usually very intimate, which makes it such a unique and unforgettable experience.

It's not me, it's you

The show is written and performed by the dynamic husband-and-wife team of Vanessa Harris and Ash Searle, and presented by their company, the award-winning Follow Spot Productions.

The duo hit the nail on the head with their hilarious portrayal of a typical relationship between a man and a woman and all the little (okay, sometimes big) things they fight about - like why won't he ever admit it if we're lost? Why does she always have to turn a map upside down? Do we really "need" new curtains - or does she actually just want new curtains? Why does he have such horrible bathroom habits? How is it that somehow she always wins the fight? Does braaiing like "a champion" really not qualify as cooking a meal?

Love at First Fight has Vanessa and Ash displaying their immeasurable talents as they sing, dance, (mis)communicate and negotiate about how to make love work.

The couple wanted to write a new show and in the process of exploring ideas, found they were arguing a lot, so thought that might be a good premise to create Love at First Fight.

Experience makes excellent

Within the first scene we could see that these two have years of experience in the industry and, boy, can they move! All the open-hanging-mouths and soft whispers around us confirmed my opinion that the phenomenal dancing was definitely one of the highlights of the show.

Searle (So You Think You Can Dance, Big Boys Don't Dance) is a technically trained dancer who has performed all over the world and locally in an array of shows from African Footprint to Chicago, Fame and We Will Rock You. He has danced and choreographed for many corporate functions including Bidvest, the SAMA awards and Miss World. Through Follow Spot Productions, he develops his style of choreography that blends comedy, theatre and dance to create a crowd-pleasing genre of live entertainment.

Vanessa Harris has been performing from a young age and has appeared in numerous productions, such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Fangs - the musical, Fusion, The Buddy Holly Story and playing the part of Wendy in the pantomime, Peter Pan. She spent six months performing in Asia with the touring cast of We Will Rock You - the Queen Musical and was seen on South African movie screens as the female lead in the late Bill Flynn's comedy, Running Riot.

Effervescent style of performance

Director Bradley Searle is known in his own right as a dancer and entertainer with an effervescent style of performance. His credits include Footloose the Musical and, with brother Ashley, a country-wide tour in Big Boys Don't Dance, a two-hander comedy and dance show that won them a Standard Bank Ovation Award at the 2010 National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.

So, if you are planning a date, a family gathering, or even a girl's night out, make sure you head out to Kalk Bay and get yourself ready to laugh, sing and dance your way through relationships.

Love at First Fight will be running at Kalk Bay Theatre until 9 April. Shows run Wednesday-Saturday at 8.30pm. For bookings contact +27 (0)73 220 5430 or go to www.kbt.co.za.