John and Beatrice: bizarre and seductive

I wanted to rave about *John and Beatrice*. I wanted to stand on the rooftop patio of the slick Coal Harbour highrise that houses the PAL Vancouver Theatre and shout the production’s praise to the urban folks going about their daily lives below. Just as the title character Beatrice sought a man to love, I wanted to love this piece, completely and in its entirety. But seldom do things work out as we desire.

I was quickly taken in by Carol Fréchette’s *John and Beatrice*, presented by "Pi Theatre":http://pitheatre.com/ and "Persephone Theatre":http://www.persephonetheatre.org/. It is an off-kilter boy-meets-girl story of fairytale dimensions that opens with Beatrice waiting alone in her 33rd floor apartment. In an action slightly ridiculous but completely fathomable in our society, Beatrice she’s posted notices all over the city setting a challenge to men: “beautiful young heiress looking for a man to interest, move and seduce her - substantial reward.” John, a modern-day bounty hunter, climbs up the 33 flights of stairs to take on this challenge. He is tough and gritty, a cynic motivated solely by external reward. In this case, the reward was not love or sex, but a stack of 20-dollar bills. John proceeds through each of Beatrice’s unique and demanding tests, proving his charms and wiles, and is able to interest, move and finally seduce her.

Vincent Gale and Patricia Drake were phenomenal as John and Beatrice. Gale portrayed the bounty hunter with precision. He was strong, resolute and authentic. Every aspect of his performance commanded my attention – his storytelling, his sarcasm and his full range of emotions – leaving me to think that I too could have been interested, moved and seduced by this broken man. Likewise, Patricia Drake did an amazing job as Beatrice, a character who came across as both clownishly unreasonable and irrational, yet very human and vulnerable. I disliked the opening Beatrice for her cold approach to dating as the spoiled rich princess. Throughout John and Beatrice’s interactions, I was able to see the characters develop, particularly evident with Drake’s Beatrice. I grew to dislike the Beatrice for different reasons, namely for her approach to relationships as the insecure female partner. I was content tohave had such a strong reaction to each.

*John and Beatrice* succeeded in presenting a bizarre and seductive story that speaks to modern romantic relationships. It was the perfect play up to the point where John asked for his reward. It was then I thought: if the play ends here I will feel fully satisfied. The play, however, kept going and without enough to sustain it for the remainder of the 90-minute play. The intriguing guise of the beginning became illogical, dissolving into an extended mess of rambles, repetitions and gender stereotypes that were neither believable nor enjoyable. Just because bad relationships sometimes go on forever doesn't mean that otherwise good plays should. Know when it's time to punch through the wall and get out.

_John and Beatrice is produced by Pi Theatre and Persephone Theatre. Written by Carole Fréchette, translated by John Murrell. Directed by Del Surjik. Starting Vincent Gale and Patricia Drake. It was presented at the PAL Vancouver Theatre._