Summary of Black Watch

The play Black Watch essentially covers the lives of soldiers of 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland, during their time at Camp Dogwood in 2004. The play cleverly uses flashbacks from the troops at the pub during their interview with a journalist, to reconstruct events that took place during their time in Iraq.

As a fan who has watched countless documentaries of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, I must say that directors have done a great deal in bringing the realisms of war unto the stage. The use of detailed army equipment such as the uniforms, helmets and weapons added tremendous realism to the production. In addition, the course of the play was filled with thick Scottish accents and profanities which created a realistic backdrop of life as a soldier in Black Watch. Also, something I really liked was the creative use of the pool table as the armoured vehicle they were travelling in. That scene further enforced the reality of how soldiers in the front-line were simply like any other bloke in a pub, just like you and me.

Also having personally gone through two years in the army, some form of connection was created between the actors and myself. The boyishness and sometimes childishness portrayed by the actors really mimicked life as a trooper as I have experienced first-hand. From getting into fights amongst ourselves, to playing mindless games out in the field, all these unleashed a floodgate of memories of my time in the army. Thereby forging an even greater sense of connection with the stage.

A strong message that the play brought across was the same idea that many war films have sought to achieve: Do the politicians really care about the men who risk their lives to fight a war that doesn’t concern them? The scene that really underscored this theme was toward the end when a soldier asked his officer, “What were they doing in Iraq?” The officer’s starkly replied that he was cursed, that it was out of no choice that he was there, blaming it on his...