Performance dates: March 28–April 4, 2025
Performance location: Studio Theatre, Douglas College, New Westminster Campus
Thrust from a quiet seaside town in Scotland into tanks in Iraq, soldiers from a historic military regiment get caught in the crossfire of the War on Terror in Douglas College’s production of Gregory Burke’s Black Watch.
Directed by Deborah Neville, the play – presented by the Douglas College departments of Theatre and Stagecraft & Event Technology – opens March 28 at 7:30pm in the New Westminster Campus’s Studio Theatre.
Humanizing the soldier perspective even as it disavows the war, Black Watch is based on interviews conducted by Burke with former Scottish Black Watch soldiers who fought in the war in Iraq and found themselves amid international controversy.
Viewed through the eyes of eight soldiers, the play reveals the complex emotions and experiences of these young men as it grapples with the dehumanizing effects of political violence.
“The play offers a beautiful insight into what it is to be a soldier on the ground, thrust into the messy politics of modern warfare,” said Neville. “Black Watch allows us into the hearts of these very young men who do their best in a close-to-impossible situation, where it is not always clear who is fighting who, or why. We get a close-up look at the exhaustion, camaraderie, fear and boredom that comes with being a soldier.”
Black Watch won over 22 awards during its two world tours between 2006 and 2009.
The cast of Black Watch includes Mathew Ashley (Maple Ridge), Sofía García Baeza (North Vancouver), Elijah Bamberry (Vancouver), Jake Barbera (Cloverdale), Bir Btaalvi (Punjab), Jono Klassen (Altona), Jeremy Lin (Coquitlam) and Adam Smyth (Vancouver).
For tickets and performances, visit our Arts Events page.
Recommended for audiences 16+.
Content warning: Mature subject matter, coarse language, loud noises, strobe/flashing lights, haze/fog effect, depictions of combat, battlefield violence and death, descriptions of PTSD and self-harm.
Contact
Aline Bouwman
Communications Officer
bouwmana@douglascollege.ca
About Douglas College
Douglas College is the largest college in B.C., combining the academic foundations of a university and the employer-ready skills of a college to graduate resilient global citizens who adapt, innovate and lead in a changing world.
Douglas College respectfully acknowledges that our campuses are located on the unceded traditional and ancestral lands of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), qiqéyt (Qayqayt), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), scəw̓aθən (Tsawwassen) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples.
For more information, visit douglascollege.ca