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Teatro en Lengua Inglesa

3º Grado en Estudios Ingleses

Facultad de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales

Universidad Jaume I de Castellón

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 Black Watch

1. The play presents a complex view of war. How is that presented in the play? You may
comment on the various perspectives that the play provides about it: the scenes at the
Iraq war camp; how the conventional media portray the war; the politicians’ messages
about the war; etc.
The soldiers’ life in Iraq presented in scenes “Camping Incoming” and “New Boys” is
boring and full of senseless routines. Their attitude towards war is that they do not think
about the Iraquis as equal human beings to be worthy of attention. The author shows
the army general belonging to a long tradition of Scottidh chiefs and warriors Lord Elgin,
a historical figure, in a dream-like scene in order to ridicule the patriotic old-fashioned
views about war and to stress how the role of tradition and culture conditions these
young men’s decisions
Furthermore, journalists are interested only in being politically correct. The play is a
version of events presented from the perspective of the soldiers and contrasted by the
author and director. The writer wants us to reflect on the war experience by being
critical, as opposed to being biased (either for or against the war). Anyway, the play
shows that real life is more chaotic, messy and complex than any fictional story
Gregory Burke decides to present the same action and events in two different ways
(re-telling stories and their representation) because it stresses the absurdity of
attributing more value to artistic/ idealist views of war than to individual human beings.
There is an anti-war message presented in the play by criticising patriotism through
parody and humour. Finally, the play focuses on the consequences of war through the
personal experiences of some of the soldiers who participated in it.

2. The play presents an ironic structure based on the contrast between reality and fiction.
How does that affect the message of the play regarding topics like patriotism, courage,
duty, honour or others traditionally associated to war.
The contrast between reality and fiction is quite defined in this play. Cammy likes
fighting and military values, but he realises that army life cannot give a meaning to his
life. Now, instead of being an honour fighting for his country, he feels like a bully
because he is invading another country. People may think that the soldier joined the
army for a sense of honour but the soldier has his own reasons, for instance, the other
soldiers (Rossco, Granty, and Stewarty) do not have any life prospects in Scotland.
In this play, the interviews would show the reality meanwhile scene interpretations
would represent the fiction. Soldiers’ life in Iraq is presented as boring and full of
senseless routines. The author uses the historical perspective presented in the form of
dream/surreal scenes about the Black Watch regiment in the past in order to ridicule the
patriotic old-fashioned views about war and to stress how the role of tradition and
culture conditions these young men’s decisions. The technique used in the play shows

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Reservados todos los derechos. No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
 that real life is more chaotic, messy and complex than any fictional story (which, by
contrast, tends to follow a specific logic). Black Watch combines realistic scenes where
the soldiers retell war experiences to the writer (pub scenes) with the representation of
those war experiences theatrically. It is presented in two different ways because it
stresses the absurdity of attributing more value to artistic/ idealist views of war than to

Reservados todos los derechos. No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
individual human beings, that is, it creates an ironic tension that pits actual war, as
based on preconceived ideas, against the real-life, harsh accounts provided by the
soldiers when they are away from the battlefield.

3. In the Pub scenes, the audience gets a glimpse of the soldiers’ personalities
and the effects of war on them. Provide a description of the consequences of war
on the characters and the reasons that compelled them to join the army by
referring to the Pub scenes in the play.
The play “Black Watch” focuses on the consequences of war through the personal
experiences of some of the soldiers who participate in it, which are the main characters
of the play. As it is explained in the play, Rossco, Granty and Stewarty join the army
because they have no life prospects in Scotland. However, Cammy joins the army
because he likes fighting and military values. Despite their different reasons for joining
the army, they all belong to the low class, as it is exemplified by their way of speaking
when they talk about the war.
During the Pub scenes, we can decipher some of the consequences of war on the
characters. First of all, there is a sense of community and belonging among them, even
if that unity comes from the exercise of violence though war. Second, during the war
they did not think about the Iraquis as equal human beings to be worthy of attention.
This shows us a lack of emotional attachment and dehumanization of the opposing side.
Therefore, after the war they have normalized violence as a normal aspect of their daily
lives. We can see such effects on them, when they speak about the researcher girl who
did not come to interview them.
In the end, after what they went through during the war, some of the characters leave
the army. Cammy leaves the army because he realises that army life cannot give a
meaning to his life. They realise that their prospects for the future are not in the army
life.

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 4. Explain the function of the writer in the play: you may refer to the style of the
play, the intended effect of including the writer as part of the story, the tensions
between reality and storytelling/fiction. Does the figure of the writer provide a
sense of objectivity/neutrality, of bias, or of critical distance?
The writer plays a crucial role in the play Black Watch. In fact, the play is partly based

Reservados todos los derechos. No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
on the interviews conducted by Gregory Burke with the soldiers that appear as
characters. Their stories and opinions are true and derived from their own experiences
in the Iraqui War. Gregory Burke decided to reproduce the process of interviewing,
including himself in the story, because he wanted the spectators to interpret events in
the play in a critical way by showing how they have been adapted.
In this play, objectivity is understood as the recreation of factual information, while
simultaneously showing how that information has been gathered and structured into a
fictional piece of drama. This entails recognising and telling the audience that the play is
a version of events presented from the perspective of the soldiers and contrasted by the
author and director.
The literary style that refers to the process of composition or writing within the story
itself is called self-reflexive fiction/drama or metadrama. It is normally employed to
break the sense of illusion and identification with the story. In Black Watch, the writer
wants us to reflect on the war experience by being critical, as opposed to being biased
(either for or against war).
Finally, Black watch combines realistic scenes where the soldiers re-tell their war
experiences with the representation of those war experiences theatrically. This creates
an ironic tension that pits actual war.

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