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Botched bed-in

JOHN/YOKO BED PIECE written and directed by Risha Yorke (draft89). At the Theatre Centre (1087 Queen West). To June 7. $25-$28. 647-887-3319. See listing. Rating: N


At the heart of this play is a decent idea: recreate an influential historical event to give audiences a fly-on-the-wall perspective on history in the making.

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To that end, John/Yoko Bed Piece does a commendable job reproducing the Montreal hotel room where ex-Beatle John Lennon (Tom Smart) and Yoko Ono (Sharon Marquez) held their second bed-in for peace back in 1969. With vintage furnishings and a cast playing 20+ historical figures, the stage is set for a solid historical drama.

Unfortunately, the script fails to capitalize on the set-up. In lieu of a plot, we’re shown condensations of three non-consecutive days. The action progresses slowly and repetitively, with John and Yoko repeating similar pro-peace slogans and hippy ideologies ad nauseam to reporters and famous well-wishers. You could concoct a dangerous drinking game around the many times Lennon says “peace” and “you know?”

Decent performances by the leads and Todd Cleland as John’s manager are limited by the dead-end script. Promising characters like Allen Radu (Andrew Gaboury), a fan who fakes his way past security, and Al Capp (Devin Upham), a conservative critic/cartoonist, would be way more effective if they appeared more than once.

Writer/director Risha Yorke mistakenly values breadth over depth. Multiple characters and poorly produced video clips don’t take the place of good storytelling and a discernible climax.

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