Written and Performed by Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland
Review by Florence Carr-Jones
theSpace @ Niddry Street: Tickets
A harrowingly beautiful exploration of modern American masculinity that echoes the past while resonating deeply with the present.
Writers and performers Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland are back at Fringe this year with a masterpiece. The show kicks off energetically with The Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” as Rice and Roland burst onto the stage, harmonicas in hand, radiating a childlike ardour and infectious enthusiasm. They embody two boys, Ace and Grasshopper, at a Scout holiday camp, ready for the mission that is Summer: running around pretending to be soldiers and playing tricks on their camp leaders. All starts well; their lives are stretched ahead of them – innocent and brimming with the boundless excitement only young boys running through the forest can feel.
The performance is a tour de force of energy and synchronicity, drawing the audience into their world. With the set consisting of only a single tyre, Rice and Roland skilfully transform the space, transporting us into the vivid realm of childhood imagination. However, as the play unfolds, this seemingly carefree world gradually unravels, revealing the unsettling darkness that lies beneath.
Ace, the more accomplished of the two, proudly displays his Scout badges, while Grasshopper, in contrast, laments, “I’ll never be a boy; I’m not that good at it.” The bond between these two opposites is humorous, heart-warming and eventually heartbreaking. We witness the boys’ inevitable descent into manhood, a journey fraught with the pressures and betrayals of a society that equates violent ambition with virtue. The line “All’s fair when you’re the good guys” lingers hauntingly throughout, challenging the idea of what it means to be ‘good’ in a 1960s America that glorifies war and stoic masculinity.
The boys’ obsession with Lyndon B. Johnson as a godlike father figure reflects the deep connection between the American Constitution and religious faith. They follow this figure blindly, climbing the perilous mountain of masculinity, hoping he will protect them. The play’s most poignant moment comes when Ace, now a man and soldier, lies dying in Vietnam and urges Grasshopper to tell LBJ his name—even whilst dying, Ace still clings to his belief in LBJ. This haunting last wish encapsulates their all-consuming faith and the futile pursuit to attain an impossible ideal of manhood.
Review by Florence Carr-Jones (contact@corrblimey.uk)
Florence recently graduated with a degree in History from the University of Edinburgh, where her passion for theatre often took precedence over her academic studies. During her time at university, she was actively involved in many theatre societies, but her deep passion was with Theatre Paradok, the experimental theatre society, where she served as president this past year. She is the director and writer of her own company, Fools and Thieves, and will begin a Master’s in Drama Directing at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School this September. Florence is particularly fascinated by interdisciplinary approaches to theatre and how the medium can evolve in the contemporary world.
