A farcical exploration of American boyhood influenced by the Vietnam War during the 1960s.
Boyhood is all about spit-shakes, rope swings and playing soldiers. But what happens when the pretend becomes all too real and childhood tales become harder to retell? Whether it’s stories around the campfire, letters home to mom, or a prayer to your favourite president, these two Boy Scouts just want a turn to play the good guy and get their moms to see the big strong men they’ve become... Scout's Honour.
Drawing on their own upbringings in military families and being taught that the USA was the greatest country in the world, double Fringe First Award winner’s Xhloe and Natasha are set for a London transfer, delving into the idealised American childhood and the boys it left behind. In an absurdist two-hander influenced by the 1960s and the Vietnam War, two boy scouts directly address the audience, telling stories, playing soldiers and declaring their admiration for current president Lyndon B. Johnson, a hero in their eyes. With the Scouts traditionally known as a way of preparing boys for military service, and Lyndon B. Johnson notorious for putting young men, barely 18, on the firing line, Xhloe and Natasha explore children’s innocence and relationship with war using their signature style of clowning, physicality and fast pace. Fitting with Xhloe and Natasha’s company ethos centred around queerness and gender identity, A Letter To Lyndon B. Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First reflects on the androgyny of gender traits that society allows boys to have in comparison to when they become men.
Co-writers and performers Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland said, “We wanted to capture a bit of our upbringings in the context of a war that a lot of Americans have a personal connection to, we know the themes of nostalgia and patriotism hit close to home for so many people our age but the time period of the show has resonated with people from older generations too. It's been so great to see such a fond response from audiences in Edinburgh, while American childhood is at the show's center, audiences are reminding us how universal these feelings are, it's been really exciting.”
Company information
Writers and performers Xhloe Rice (They/She/He) and Natasha Roland (She/They/Them)
Listings information
4 – 14 September 2024
King’s Head Theatre, 115 Upper St, London N1 1QN
Tickets from £10 | kingsheadtheatre.com/home