Review: A Letter To Lyndon B. Johnson Or God: Whoever Reads This First, Soho Theatre

Vietnam looms large in the American psyche. Generations after the war ended, its ramifications are still being felt. Questions around morality, ethics, and the States’ involvement in foreign conflict are as relevant today as they ever were.

A Letter To Lyndon B. Johnson Or God: Whoever Reads This First weaves together two narratives. The first follows two boy scouts as they muddle through childhood, playing games and learning what it means to be a boy, an American boy, in the mid-20th Century. The second sees the same pair, older, as soldiers in Vietnam. The walls between these two stories are blurred from the start, childhood games of war turning to real danger and summer camp antics mirrored by military camaraderie.

With a minimalist set-up – aside from the two actors the only other presence on the stage is a large tyre – the audience is transported from suburbia to jungle and back without breaking a sweat. It’s a testament to the script, the design and the credibility of the performers that it’s always clear how scenes and scenarios change in what has the potential to be a confusing structure.

As the name suggests, at the heart of the play is American paternalism. The two characters see the president as a father figure, a god, and a celebrity all at once, desperate to impress and be recognised by him in both timelines. The confidence barely falters, so sure are they that their country and leader is always in the right.

The play emphasises just how early blind patriotism is baked into citizens’ lives. The children practice reciting the pledge of allegiance, an alien concept to most outside of the US, the words later deteriorating into gibberish as disillusionment seeps in.

There’s a lot packed into the 60-minute runtime, with alternative family structure, gender roles and military trauma just some of the ideas touched on. It would be interesting to have seen more on these themes, but that would inevitably dim the strength of the central plot. Deeper dives into these will have to wait for future shows. At times it drifts too far from that spikiness, somewhat diluting the essence of the piece. One passage, where the characters chase a mosquito, is well-executed and a great comic moment, but feels somewhat out of place with what surrounds it.

Somehow, the harmonica-driven soundtrack works. Perhaps it shouldn’t – it’s not the first instrument that comes to mind to accompany emotional moments – but it does. Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland harmonise on Beatles classics, adding an extra dimension to the soundscape. It’s a wonder that the pair have the lung capacity to keep up the music, occupied as they are with the well-timed back-and-forth and the demanding choreography. 

The level of trust between the pair is wonderful to watch. They lean into and jump over each other without hesitation, moving together in a way that is clearly extremely well rehearsed but looks natural.

There are a lot of sharp observations in A Letter to Lyndon B. Johnson, clever choreography and strong performances supporting a compelling concept. Despite some wavering moments, this play packs a punch. Hopefully this London run for Xhloe and Natasha is a precursor to many more.

Written and performed by: Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland
Lighting design by: Angelo Sagnelli

A Letter to Lyndon B. Johnson plays in rotation with What If They Ate The Baby? at Soho Theatre until Saturday 29 March.