''Black Watch'' is a play written by Gregory Burke and directed by John Tiffany as part of the first season of the National Theatre of Scotland. Based on interviews with former soldiers, it portrays soldiers in the Black Watch regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

serving on Operation TELIC in Iraq during 2004, prior to the amalgamation into the

Royal Regiment of Scotland The Royal Regiment of Scotland (SCOTS) is the British Army Order of Precedence, senior and only current Scottish regiment, Scottish line infantry Regiment#British Army, regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular (form ...

. ''Black Watch'' was first performed during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on 1 August 2006 in a temporary traverse stage at the former

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

Officer Training Corps' Drill hall. Well received by critics, ''Black Watch'' has won four Olivier Awards including Best New Play. It has also won a ''

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'' Angel, ''

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'' Fringe First, a Best Theatre Writing Award from '' The List'', a Stage Award for Best Ensemble, the '' South Bank Show'' award for Theatre and four Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland.

Context

The Black Watch regiment is based in

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

and the Tayside region in Scotland, and the

has been a part of their lives for generations. Their fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers, have been soldiers in the regiment – a regiment that has been involved in virtually every major conflict since it was formed as the '' Gallant Forty Twa'' in 1739. "It's in the blood. It's part of who we are." In October 2004, the Black Watch was at the centre of political controversy after the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

requested British forces to be moved further north outside of the British-controlled Multi-National Division, to replace forces temporarily redeployed for the Second Battle of Fallujah. Despite objections in

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, the deployment went ahead. Based at Camp Dogwood, located between Fallujah and Karbala, in an area later dubbed the " Triangle of Death", the Black Watch came under sustained insurgent attack from

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

and rockets. On 4 November three soldiers and an interpreter were killed by a car bomb at a check point. The high-profile nature of the deployment caused a magnification of these deaths back home in Britain. On 16 December 2004, the controversy surrounding the Black Watch was further heightened by the official announcement that the regiment was to be amalgamated with the other regiments in the Scottish Division to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The then Secretary of State for Defence, Geoff Hoon, was accused by the SNP of "stabbing the soldiers in the back" and being motivated purely by political and administrative concerns, with little regard to the effect on morale.

Cast and productions

Other cast members have included: Tom Smith (Sergeant/ Writer – 2007 Scottish tour), Jack Fortune (Officer – 2007–2008), Duncan Anderson (Rossco, 2008). ''Black Watch'' was the first National Theatre of Scotland production to be performed internationally. Productions tours have travelled: *2006 –

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

*2007 – Pitlochry, Aberdeen,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

Dingwall Dingwall (, ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north ...

, Los Angeles, New York City *2008 – Sydney,

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, Glenrothes, Glasgow,

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, Toronto, London,

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, New York City *2010 –

, Aberdeen,

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, London *2011 – Washington, D.C.,

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, Glenrothes, Chicago, New York *2012 – Washington, D.C., Chicago,

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*2013 –

, Norfolk and Norwich Festival,

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, San Francisco

Score

The production's score features new music and arrangements of traditional songs from composer Davey Anderson alongside contemporary chart hits, instrumentals and recordings. Traditional songs are sung live by the cast. ''The Black Bear'' is performed live on bagpipes. * Salute to the Commonwealth – The Band of HM Royal Marines Scotland * Spitting Games – Snow Patrol * First Sleep – Cliff Martinez * Gallant Forty Twa – Traditional, arr. Davey Anderson * Selection – The Black Watch Pipes and Drums * Forfar Sodgar – Traditional, arr. Davey Anderson * Farewell to Nigg – Shooglenifty * Summer 78 – Yann Tiersen * Twa Recruiting Sergeants – Traditional, arr. Davey Anderson * Maybe You're My Puppet – Cliff Martinez * Last Days – Max Richter * A Thearlaich Òig (Oh Young Charles Stewart) – Margaret Bennett & Martyn Bennett * Flowers of the Forest – Traditional, arr. Davey Anderson * Black Bear – Traditional, arr. Davey Anderson

Reviews

"They were every soldier; they were also irreducibly themselves. This exquisitely sustained double vision makes ''Black Watch'' one of the most richly human works of art to have emerged from this long-lived war" ''The New York Times'' "Rarely has the torpor, the tension, the nerve-shattering randomness of this conflict's violence been made so agonizingly real – in real time. ''Black Watch'' is like a dose of caffeine delivered directly to the bloodstream." ''The Washington Post'' "Brimming with breathtaking theatricality, inventiveness, style, thought provoking intelligence, humour and heart…an unmissable piece of theatre." ''Metro'' "A mature and complex piece of political theatre – fierce, passionate and unguarded." ''The Guardian'' In September 2019, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' writers listed ''Black Watch'' as the ninth best theatre show since 2000.

Awards

The production has won multiple international awards including four Laurence Olivier Awards, four Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland and The South Bank Show Award for Theatre. * Best Theatre Award, The South Bank Show Awards 2006 * Best Director, The Critics Circle Awards 2006 * Herald Angel Award, 2006 * Scotsman Fringe First Award, 2006 * Best Theatre Writing Award, The List, 2006 * Friends of the Fringe Award, 2006 * Best Ensemble, The Stage Awards, 2006 * Best Director, Best Ensemble, Best Technical Presentation & Best Production, Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland 2006-2007 * Best Play, Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards 2007 * Best Visiting Production, Manchester Evening News Award 2007 * Best Touring Production, Theatre Management Association Awards 2008 * Great Scot Award for Entertainment, Sunday Mail Great Scot Awards 2008 * Best Sound Design, Helpmann Awards 2008 * Best New Play, Best Director, Best Theatre Choreographer & Best Sound Design, Laurence Olivier Awards 2009 * Best Foreign Play, New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards 2009 * Outstanding Touring Production, The Dora Mavor Moore Awards 2009 * Best Touring Show (Theatre), The Austin Critics’ Table Awards 2010-11 * Outstanding Non-Resident Production, Helen Hayes Award 2013

DVD release

A DVD recording of the play, including the Scottish BAFTA award-winning BBC Scotland documentary ''Black Watch: A Soldier's Story'', was released in October 2008. It won in the international category in the 2008 Prix Circom Regional Programme Awards.

References

External links

Black Watch Official Site – National Theatre of Scotland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Watch (Play) Scottish political plays 2006 plays 2006 in Scotland Docudrama plays Plays based on actual events Iraq War in fiction