Theatre Review: O No! at Sheffield Theatre's Studio
It’s both an affectionate tribute to Yoko Ono and a take-off of the hippie utopianism that she and John Lennon promoted.
Yoko Ono owes her fame as a quirky minimalist artist in some part to her relationship with Lennon and the impact that had on popular consciousness.
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Hide AdShe has always sought to blur the boundaries between art and the world, the performer and the audience, the private and the public.
Jamie Wood does likewise – encouraging the audience to discover connections with each other and become an integral part of the evening’s entertainment.
His relaxed style facilitates this slightly uncomfortable process. He’s as much stand-up comedian as ‘maker of theatre, clowning and dance’.
Some of the happenings which Yoko Ono became famous for are re-enacted, including Wood, dressed in black, inviting the audience to cut pieces from his dress.
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Hide AdLater his presentation of himself as the incarnation of both Yoko Ono and Lennon is strangely touching.
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Hide AdThe show is punctuated by gun shots – a reminder of Lennon’s murder, but also of Yoko Ono’s courage in remaining true to herself in the ensuing years.
At the end the audience combines in a bizarre rendering of Imagine – some playing a variety of home-made instruments – in an anthem to an alternative vision of the world.