Best friends Jess and Gem, two struggling actresses, decide to go their separate ways after yet another unsuccessful audition and a bed fiasco. In search of success and spiritual enlightenment, Jess goes to LA, and Gem to India, but things are not as easy as they anticipated. The two friends complement each other on stage, and share an excellent sense of comic timing. Jess (Jess Luisa Flynn) is a larger than life character ready to sell her soul to any corporation, while Gem (Gemma Stone) is a born-again-Buddhist, struggling to keep her calm. Both play a host of characters in each others journeys: Stone is a slimy LA producer who slinks around the stage, while Flynn plays a gap-yah-inspired pot-head and a grimy-fingered guru who opens Gems third eye.The show doesnt flow, and this is its fundamental problem. While the characterisation is good and some of the scenes funny, the format means they are split up into unsatisfying little chunks, while the scene changes between them are protracted and dull as the two actresses scrabble for yet another costume change. The set is well-designed and beautifully painted, while the small venue creates a necessary intimacy that allows both actresses to interact with us. If the scenes could be joined better, this would be much more enjoyable to watch. The Divine Tales is a fun and simple show, whose cliched moral message is one we can all empathise with.
