PICS Black Watch Essay - Grade: 56/10 PDF

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Black Watch Review...

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Select three appropriate extracts from the performance of Black Watch in order to analyse the way members of the creative team (Director, Writer, Designers [sound, lighting and set] and the acting ensemble) set out to engage their audience by telling the story of a Scottish regiment and a story of nation pride. The play Black Watch is written by Gregory Burke and Directed by John Tiffany and portrayed by the National Theatre of Scotland. First performed in 2006, it is based on interviews from real life soldiers after they had fought in Iraq and then infused with music, projection and movement to create an artistic masterpiece. The plot focuses on the famous Scottish regiment that went to battle in Iraq and the outcome of the actions of the Scottish Government as they attempt to unite with other regiments in order to become a battalion. We see the soldiers in a raw form dealing with the effects of war and the complex emotions that war causes, when a reporter comes to interview them. The soldiers answer the questions asked by the reporter in a flashback form, and re-enact their challenging experiences. As an audience we feel connected and emotional as we feel as though we are part of their journey as we are experiencing the present with them as well as reflecting on their past. It begins set in a Scottish pub/ pool hall, which sets the tone of the piece as a spectator you feel like an intruder, imposing on their privacy, as it becomes even more of an intimate and truthful environment when the reporter arrives. The audience engage with the reporter’s point of view and take on board his perspective whilst he asks questions and reports on such a sensitive subject. Although the play is very hard hitting on the audience, it also has comedic elements, displaying typical ‘lad culture’ which makes it all the more truthful and realistic as a spectator. The lad culture plays a frequent role throughout the play, breaks the seriousness of their harsh reality, and emphasises the bond between the regiment. The play is constantly switching between the past

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and present and comedic and seriousness, which shows that it, is a fast-paced narrative, which highlights the fast and demanding lifestyle of the soldiers.

I have chosen to discuss the Actors Performance and the way in which they use their body and movement in order to engage the audience and to tell the narrative. During the performance, the actors used their bodies to tell the story but also to express emotion. Tiffany and Hoggett (the choreographer) worked closely together to create a sense of realism by using abstract movement. For example physical theatre itself, to not only engage the audience but also make them fully aware of how the actors are expressing their psychological state of mind. The use of movement invites a particular focus from the audience to look closer into what the actor is trying to express. One way that they do this is by doing lots of synchronised slow motion movements and routines throughout the play, which slightly resemble a dance routine. They are used for different reasons, for example to show the passing of time, to express emotion and to also emphasise the action. The actor’s voice and bodies are central to the performance and that is especially true for the play Black Watch that takes the words from the script and plays them out artistically through the use of movement, sound and staging.

The opening scene of the play sees the soldier ‘Cammy’ opening the play with a monologue. Just before this however, there is loud orchestral music being played and a voice over directly speaking to the audience introducing the play ‘Black Watch’ itself creating a highly dramatic atmosphere, which is suddenly broken by Cammy’s entrance and the line “Alright”. The barrier between audience and actor are broken

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down, creating a change in atmosphere. This change in atmosphere from climatic to anti-climactic is extremely affective as it leaves the audience questioning what is going to happen. Moreover, this change in tone is something that happens throughout the play highlighting the director’s use of rhythm and pacing to tell the story. Instantly he addresses the audience directly in a brechtian styled speech by breaking the ‘fourth wall’. Instantly as an audience member, we feel intrusive and it feels very personal as he is challenging our opinions, which technically makes the scene as a performance un-realistic. This is all created with his voice, body as the staging is bare, and there is just a single spotlight on Cammy. He has nervous ora about him shown through some slight twitching and an awkward stance, however he hardly moves staying in the same spot throughout his whole speech. His voice also holds a vocal nuance, a slight shift in which his voice suddenly rises in pitch and he takes a deep swallow to regain control of his vocals. The stillness despite his slight, and somewhat natural movements, create a dramatic effect against his strong and powerful words. His words express his pride for his achievements’ and his experiences. Therefore, by using no movements it emphasises what he is saying to the audience. It is an external expression of his internal thoughts, which may be the reasoning as to why he seems so uneasy. His uneasy stance made me as a spectator almost uneasy myself, it is a difficult subject to listen to as it is so truthful and raw, but I feel as though that this was John Tiffany’s aim when deciding how to portray this powerful opening scene. Despite the un-naturalistic addressing the audience, it is a highly realistic portrayal of someone expressing their feelings. Denise Vernon (2017) Said “Cammy’s opening monologue is a self conscious, theatrical provocation to the audience, acknowledging them and challenging their assumptions about

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soldiers but his physical and emotional playing is within the range of realistic acting. Cammy’s sense of vulnerability as a human being is played out vocally and physically”. Within Black watch there are many moments of realistic acting moments like this opening scene, mirroring well- observed human behaviour. This is achieved through the actor using his voice and body and performing in a detailed and well thought through manner creating a naturalistic performance. Denise Vernon (2017) also said regarding naturalism, “There could be a jolt of recognition for the audience watching naturalistic characters- acknowledging the same behaviour traits in themselves”. His performance captures the audience’s attention immediately and highlights what he is saying, which highlights to us as an audience a sense of national pride and begins to tell this story.

The next scene I have chosen to discuss due to its use of physical theatre techniques is the ‘Fashion show’ scene. The actors perform a very precise and synchronised routine to displaying the history of the Black Watch by using the different uniforms that have evolved over time and narration from ‘Cammy’ to assist it. The scene itself appears to the audience routined and fluid which reflects the lifestyle of the soldier, as they had to be consistent and follow a routine on a day-to-day basis. The constant movement of the piece is used to persuade the audience that time has passed, as it takes the audience through different centuries. The fluent movements tell an effective story and this is a clear example of how actions speak louder than words, as an audience are visually aware of how history has evolved. They move Cammy into many different positions, flipping and dragging him, rolling him taking him from a representation of original highland dress into the camouflage uniform that we know

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today. The actors carry the routine out with military precision, making it resemble that of the synchronisation and precision needed in a military battle. Denise Vernon (2017) said, “There is an audience expectation that the performer’s body will ‘embody’ the confidence and skill that comes with training”. All actors were confident within their movements, which assisted them when resembling the characters, they were trying to portray. This is because those who serve in the army have an expectation to be confident and strong; the actors fulfilled this stereotype and told the story perfectly. The performer is trained physically and psychologically to communicate a message with the audience which is evident during the fashion scene. This sequence also tells the story of national pride. Not only with the different uniforms but also in the narration that goes over the routine. Kaufman, 2012 said, “Tiffany had in mind a human version of the Scottish military demonstrations in which the soldiers take apart and reassemble cannon in minutes. But the sequence also brings to mind uncomfortable notions of control and possessions of one’s own body, which is wrested from the soldiers the moment they don the very gear that’s being celebrated”. His words mirror this idea of being controlled as he discusses Scotland losing its independence, and becoming part of Britain, a theme within the play. This again implies a sense of national pride that he has for Scotland.

The final scene I have chosen to discuss, which I feel represents the actor’s performances is ‘The Future’ which leads into ‘The Parade’. As the final scene in the play, it was inevitable that it was going create an impact. The scene begins with the soldiers in uniform position and they all individually reveal what or whom they fought for. It becomes evident that none of them fought for their government or

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country like it is usually implied in real life, highlighting the truthfulness within ‘Black Watch’. They reveal that they actually fought for their platoon, their friends, things that matter personally to them. Then one soldier begins to play the bagpipes. This immediately implies the soldier’s sense of pride towards their roots, although we now question the stereotype that people in the army fight for their country. The men salute and a countdown to battle begins, again this creates the sense of climax that the director used throughout. Through the intense and dramatic music, the men embodied a battle in the form of physical theatre. A battle is usually chaotic and spontaneous, but the way in which John Tiffany created this scene, it added an order and fluidity. Rather than portraying a battle, the actor’s movements were portrayed so artistically that it expressed the emotion behind a battle, how they felt about the battle. “While the play ends with a celebration of soldier’s survival, it also stresses in a clear and compelling way the anger these veterans feel towards nonveterans,” TaftKaufman said in 2000. It conveys their pride but it also conveys a sense of resentment towards those who are not fighting to save their life and those taking away their Scottish independence. The repetition of the movements within the scene seem to represent the repetition of the soldiers life as they become an existence within the army and feel a lack of commendation which is discussed throughout the play. This scene goes against people’s expectations of war and what soldiers are expected to fight for when in reality this is not the case. The play exposes that the soldiers are fighting to survive and for one another. This is evident through the play as they mention their reasons for entering the army is for selfish reasons of having ‘nothing better to do’. When interviewing the soldiers, Burke (2011) said he found a brute honesty in the soldiers accounts free of sentimentality, which supports the

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honesty within this scene. Tiffany 2012 “Using physicality to bring to the surface for the audience’s consideration what the soldiers feel but do not say, experience that can not be articulated in words”. This quote perfectly summarises the aim of this final scene. They have created a physical representation of the soldier’s feelings and emotions through physical theatre that us audience members, mostly being nonveterans will never know until we experience it first hand.

John Tiffany “I wanted to produce something that would reflect the creation progress and give a sense of experience of watching the production that couldn’t be understood from the words alone”. The production of Black Watch whether it is through movement, staging or sounds has lifted the words from the page and created an artistically beautiful piece of theatre. The movements brought to life hidden emotions that had not been made public ever before, and exploited the sequences to express previously hidden moments. It has shown the soldiers emotional states in a thrilling and exciting way. Recognising the soldier’s experiences in this way and using movements to make their stories more intelligible and relatable to the audience is works of a genius. It reflects the work and the philosophies that of Philosopher Artaud , Charles Marowitz (1981) said “The Artaudian actor knows that unless feeling has been shaped into a communicative image (the actors body), it is a passionate letter without postage”. This reflects John Tiffanys and Hoggetts interpretation by making the actors embody the emotion beyond the Soldiers recollections to express it, rather than just using the words alone. To summarise ‘Black Watch’ is a truthful, exposing and thrilling portrayal of life within the modern day armed forces. It forces us to suspend our disbelief and devote ourselves into a

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world with may mirror the one we live in but we agree that it is not our world, no matter how much we feel we connected to what we are viewing or what we believe prior to the viewing.

WORD COUNT: 2256

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Burke. G (2011), Personal Interview, Soho Theatre, London, 6 th December

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Kaufman (2012) ‘Black Watch’s’ experiment in war poetry is a play in athleticism’. The Washington post, 27/09/2012

Marowitz. Charles, (1981) Sytan pg 111

Taft-Kaufman, (2000), How to tell a true war story: The dramaturgy and staging of Narrative Theatre. Theatre Topics, 10

Tiffany, (2012), Personal Interview by Sarah Beck (telephone), 15th February

Vernon. Denise, (2017) Presentation on Performance, UoS, 6 th March

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