The Black Watch regiment is based in Fife and the Tayside region in Scotland, and the army 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 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 Parliament, 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 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, Jack Fortune, Henry Pettigrew and Jack Lowden. Black Watch was the first National Theatre of Scotland production to be performed internationally. Productions tours have travelled:
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
"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
Best Touring Show, 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.
