Review: A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson or God

For a duo working between clown, physical theatre and absurdist storytelling, Xhloe and Natasha capture a rare blend of accessibility and experimentation. For Letter, they inhabit a metaphysical space that matches childish imagination and warfare: two young men, Ace and Grasshopper, flicker between memories of childhood, scouting and patriotic fervour, before landing in manhood and the horrors of the Vietnam war.

Their storytelling is as limpid and light as their choreography: anecdotes begin, then blur, sentimentality is juxtaposed against an intrusive violence. A scout camp game becomes a search and destroy patrol; childish rituals speak to a sinister patriotism and the sudden disappearance of certainty. As Ace and Grasshopper recount apparently random anecdotes, the inevitable encroachment of death crushes their optimism and self-belief. Letter is a buoyant and melancholic reflection on how masculinity is shaped and, in its shaping, becomes destructive.

However, aside from the sudden intensity of the final scene, Letter is never less than joyous. The artists rejoice in their physical skills, in their florid speeches and telling gestures. Instrumentals from the Beatles both contextualise the narrative and add a sparkling dynamism to the antics. Compassionate but fierce, emotional yet playful, Letter showcases the potential of serious clowning.