Review: OUR VISIONS BEGIN WITH OUR DESIRES- CHAPTER 2 Contemplates What The Real Housewives Franchise Would Look Like If It Had A More Diverse Cast

Wednesday 16th September 2020, 7:30pm, Old 505 Theatre

Black Birds Creative Arts Co welcome the audience to be part of a 'studio audience' for an in-person and live-streamed presentation of OUR VISIONS BEGIN WITH OUR DESIRES - CHAPTER 2 for Sydney Fringe Festival. A sequel to their one-night-only show AN APPROPRIATE REACTION: OUR VISIONS BEGIN WITH OUR DESIRES, this new show shares 'The Real Housewives of Black Birds' with a wider audience.

With concept, script and styling by Ayeesha Ash, OUR VISIONS BEGIN WITH OUR DESIRES - CHAPTER 2 is Black Birds Creative Arts Co's imagining of what a reunion of The Real Housewives franchise would look like if the Australian series had more Womxn of Colour. Soccer-mom Lulu (Ayeesha Ash), brand ambassador Joanna (Stelly G) and businesswoman Angel (Ebube Uba) join host Shaman (Richard Tanumi) to share what they've been up to with the requisite level of cattiness and one up-woman-ship thrown in before they accept that unity and support is a better option.

The talk show studio stage is dressed with retro plastic swivel chairs and a pink luggage and luxury theme. In keeping with the current climate of social distancing, the quartet are spread across Old 505's corner stage which does however impact the realism of the interactions which are also hampered by the timing of cues not quite landing with dialogue being somewhat labored. While the ladies have a good sense of their characters Tanumi appears to hold a script with the attempt to disguise it as a book incongruous with the format as a clipboard or notepad with interviewers notes would have been more plausible. The use of an open shirted barefooted spiritualist as the host also seems at odds with both the staging and the content.

An amusing flash of sequins and sparkle, OUR VISIONS BEGIN WITH OUR DESIRES- CHAPTER 2 has a good underlying concept but feels like it could stand some tightening which will hopefully occur once the nerves of opening night live broadcast have settled.

https://sydneyfringe.com/events/our-visions-begin-with-our-desires-chapter-2/