Everything in the National Theatre of Scotland’s exhilarating “Black Watch” at the Shakespeare Theatre Company is done on a grand scale: loud music, bright lights, thundering sound effects. But then this show is designed to not just tell a story of war, but to reflect the conditions of war, its excesses, its noise, its lack of subtlety. “Black Watch” is the result of playwright Gregory Burke’s interviews with soldiers of the famous Black Watch regiment on their return from serving in Iraq. At the beginning of Burke’s play, there is a writer (Paul Higgins) who enters a pub, asking questions of several young soldiers who have returned from fighting in Iraq’s Triangle of Death south of Baghdad.
| If you go |
| ‘Black Watch’ |
| Where: Shakespeare Theatre Company, Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW |
| When: Through Sunday; see Web site for dates and times |
| Info: $40 to $85; 202-547-1122; shakespearetheatre.org |
Those interview scenes are woven into recreations of what it was like when the men were deployed to Camp Dogwood in 2004. Burke shows scenes of daily life, as full of waiting and of boredom as it is of deadly explosions. He emphasizes the soldiers’ intense camaraderie. As his characters watch the Americans’ aerial bombing of a distant target, the Scottish men observe the scene with a mixture of admiration and horror.
But remembering the nightmare of war is only half the goal of “Black Watch.” The other half, the revelation of the ancient and venerable regiment’s history, is played out through song, dance and dramatic dialogue, with the young Scottish men and their commanding Officer telling the tale of the Black Watch’s beginning in 1739 and its development through the ages.
Echoes of the regiment’s importance and bravery are on the lips of the eight soldiers, their sergeant (Paul Higgins) and their commanding officer (Ian Pirie) throughout the play. But there are two points where the history of the Black Watch becomes particularly important.
The first is when Pirie plays out the role of Lord Elgin, complete with kilt and sword, his soldiers singing with him and executing a vigorous Highland Fling despite their heavy-soled army boots. The second is when the men visually demonstrate the history of the regiment.
With its complex view of war, politics and ancient and modern history, “Black Watch” is an immensely moving play. It is also a profound vision of Scottish national heritage and pride.
