Queer, Clownish, and Unapologetically American: Xhloe and Natasha Bring a Triple Bill of Chaos and Commentary to the Fringe

Xhloe and Natasha return to the Edinburgh Fringe with their triple bill featuring And Then The Rodeo Burned Down, What If They Ate The Baby? and A Letter To Lyndon B. Johnson Or God: Whoever Reads This First. The New York-based duo combine absurdist physical theatre, clowning, and queer-centered comedy to explore themes of identity, politics, and American culture through fast-paced, sharp performances. 

We spoke to them ahead of their run at theSpace @ Niddry Street.

For those new to your work, how would you describe the experience of watching one of your shows in one sentence?

A whirlwind of absurdity and clown best enjoyed if you submit to enjoyment and let go of understanding everything!

All three shows explore different facets of American culture and politics. What draws you personally to these themes, and how do you approach making such serious topics funny and engaging?

We definitely both have a fascination with history, but we also think it’s the best lens through which to comment on the present. Making audiences face something they’re dealing with by highlighting how we’ve dealt with it before, whether or similarly or differently. We feel like we don’t have the privilege of making work that isn’t political, we write about things we struggle with, things we feel passionately about, which always ends up tying into current events and culture, we don’t really seek out politics, we seek out topics we feel the authority to write about and that others might resonate with. We always want our shows to be funny and engaging, but it’s a necessity with serious topics. A lot of the most difficult political conversations are filled with absurdity, and clown is all about a sense of play and exaggeration, so whether it’s capitalism, nationalism, or militarism, they kind of go hand in hand with absurd theatre and clowning. 

Your shows are noted for their physicality and clowning alongside rapid-fire script work. What’s your rehearsal process like to get that precise choreography and timing?

Every rehearsal process looks a bit different, because it’s just the two of us, we get to adapt the process to the piece, to the scene, or even just to how we feel on the day, but we definitely recognize how our long spanning collaboration allows us to have the physical vocabulary that makes rehearsal super efficient. A lot of our blocking processes involve kinesthetic response, we physically improvise in a way that is reactive to the other person in space, it’s something we’ve been doing forever and we think overtime, whether it’s telepathy or osmosis or magic, the way we move and our sense of timing has become super in tune with each other. This isn’t to say that a lot of it still doesn't come down to repetition, we are notorious video takers, for every moment of “in sync” choreo on stage there are hours of footage of us getting it wrong.

What’s been your most memorable or unexpected reaction from an audience member during any of these shows?

Something we’ve found memorable and surprising has come from the storytelling aspect of “A Letter To LBJ or God.” We talk directly to the audience, they’re in the round surrounding us, it really pulls the audience into being complicit in the story and as a result we’ve noticed more audience talking and vocalizing during the show than we’ve ever seen. Not talking to each other, or even us, but audiences just being so present in the story that their reaction just comes out, they really feel like they’re in conversation with our characters. There have certainly been a few times that it verges on distracting, but we do think it’s just a sign of a present and attentive audience and we wouldn’t trade that for silence.

If you had to pick one song from all of the soundtracks that perfectly sums up the spirit of the triple bill of shows, which would it be and why?

This is a hard one! It might have to be Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” because of the way it emphasizes the hard work and the cycle of it all. Also, all of our shows are colorful and silly on the outside but pack a bit of an emotional punch up close, we think “9 to 5” is like that too, super catchy, upbeat, but when you really listen to the lyrics there’s way more going on there. The line that rings in our heads is “enough to drive you crazy if you let it” but luckily we never let it…

Finally — if someone’s never been to the Fringe before, why should they make  one of your shows their first festival experience?

Maybe we’re biased, but we think the spirit of the Fringe is in new work, weird and funky shows, and a DIY spirit. Our experience at Fringe has truly transformed our careers and our lives, we started as a tiny team pinching pennies to get to Edinburgh, and while we’re thrilled with the help and the following we’ve gained now, we think our shows really exemplify Fringe spirit and what being in Edinburgh in August is all about, sharing cool art you feel strongly about with loads of cool artists.

The triple bill runs at theSpace @ Niddry Street, 1 – 23 Aug (not 10 & 17). Tickets available at: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/a-letter-to-lyndon-b-johnson-or-god-whoever-reads-this-first

https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/and-then-the-rodeo-burned-down

https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/what-if-they-ate-the-baby