What are young boys really fighting for? A Letter To Lyndon B Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First, written and performed by Natasha Roland and Xhloe Rice, poses this question in a unique way that isn’t intentionally serious or heavy, but still profound.
The story follows two Boy Scouts during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. From the beginning of the story, they refer to each other by code names. Both of their home upbringings are somewhat deficient. Ace grew up in a family where the older brothers are soldiers and his father has a violent streak, whilst Grasshopper was raised by his grandmother and never knew who his parents were. Though only seven years old, they aspire to be ‘a proper man’ to serve Lyndon. During the story, they frolic; tease the camp counsellors with pranks; play soldier; and climb out of the window at night to play the trombone in the hope that Lyndon on the train will notice them as he passes through town... until they go off to war.
There is only a tyre on the unadorned stage, which serves as a prop for them to play with, and also turns into other scenery depending on the situation, such as the window that Ace climbs through when he sneaks out of his house. If you listen closely, you can often notice the cicadas chirping and owls whooping, which not only builds the atmosphere of a small town at night but also sounds like the silence before a storm on a battlefield. When Ace blows the trombone, both the blue and yellow light (Angelo Sagnelli) shine on him, as if it were the moonlight. Throughout this production, the lighting naturally renders the setting and the character’s mood like this all the time, allowing the audience to quickly follow the sudden changes in the character’s state of mind. Several times in this story, Ace and Grasshopper play the harmonica from their pockets. On one occasion, they spend a few minutes showing the fight against mosquitoes with the sound of the harmonica. Near the end, the melody of Yesterday by The Beatles adds a touch of melancholy to the harmonica’s already somewhat nostalgic tone.
Roland’s Ace is very vibrant and energetic, but this energy is actually the shell he uses to wrap himself up in this tough and fearless look. Rice’s Grasshopper is soft and slightly timid, with a little bit of stuttering, but is somewhat more tenacious and mature than Ace. Watching them run around barefoot in their mud-stained scout uniforms with all their badges on, it’s hard not to find them endearing. Roland and Rice’s tacit understanding of each other is a bonus to this production. The way they interact with each other is as if they have actually grown up together.
From pieces of play and everyday life to the battlefield, the entire piece moves at a very comfortable pace, with narration naturally inserted. While this story isn’t complex, it is well-crafted. When Ace is shot and can barely hold on, he asks Grasshopper to tell Lyndon his name when he sees him. However, his real name has been left unknown to us. From the beginning to the end of the story, even when they are on the verge of losing their lives because of the war, the two boys still have an innocent and almost dreamy yearning and followership for the President, making the moment more heartbreaking. It may seem like this story is mostly about the playfulness of children, but it’s always about the war, and the title of this work could not be more appropriate.
A Letter To Lyndon B Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First runs at Soho Theatre until 29th March 2025.
★★★★☆ (4*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Morgan McDowell
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