A re-enactment of two ideals in bed

In 1969, Israeli journalist, lyricist, singer and later right-wing Knesset member Akiva Nof had a rare encounter with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who were staying at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam for their "BED-IN" demonstration for world peace. Nof, in pajamas, got into bed with Lennon and Ono and recorded an interview in which they detailed their views on peace, the hippie movement, God, and love.
 

The play "Double Fantasy" (named after John and Yoko's album) is based on a reenactment of the interview, which takes place again in a hotel room bed. The royal couple is portrayed by David Maayan and Smadar Yaaron - former partners and creators with mythological status, essentially the John and Yoko of the Israeli fringe; together they founded the Acco Theater Center, focussing on Jewish-Arab cooperation, communal fostering of culture and critical examinationof  Israeli narratives and ideals. Maayan later on moved to live and work in Vienna, while Yaaron still creates in Acco and runs the theater. 

In this re-enactment, the young Akiva Nof is played by today's Akiva Nof, now 88 years old.
During one hour, the past and present blend together. This time, the peace-and-love bed is more a war-and-peace bed, as Nof, an eloquent and adamant supporter of national and realistic values, clashes with Lennon-Maayan and Ono-Yaaron about their worldview. In a sense this Bed-In reflects today’s Israel and its ideological clashes.  

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This is a historical-documentary reenactment, as well as a biographical flashback of David, Smadar and Akiva, returning to the young people they were in defining moments of their lives.  John, Yoko, and Akiva converse (among themselves and with the audience) about the ideals of the Sixties in light of today's Israeli and global reality, about right and left, about old age and death. 

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The play is interwoven with original string arrangements of John, Yoko, and Akiva's hits, and the audience is invited to join in the chorus.

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We can do the piece in Hebrew and in English. Some of the songs are in Hebrew and can be translated and projected as surtitles.  

Director - Yonatan Levy
Actors - David Maayan, Smadar Yaaron, Akiva Nof
Musical arrangement - Shawn Law Yone Gilad
Musicians - Gilad Ironi, Hadar Ben Zvi, Aya Nemlich
Producer - Shirly Marom
Styling - Neta Zaid
Graphic design - Nadav Shalev
Photography - Dana Simonyan‎, Rona Yefman
Video - photographer Yonatan Zaid, editor Jenya Loss

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Certificate of merit at Acco Festival 2025.

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