Chicago Shakespeare Theatre brought in to their World's Stage program a production of the National Theatre of Scotland. This production was called Black Watch. The premise of the show is that you are following a platoon of soldiers in Scotland's prestigious Black Watch army. The basis of the show was such that the main theatre on Navy Pier was not suitable to hold this production. So the best place and most fitting that they found was the Broadway Armory.
So in the brief research I did on this show before attending, I had really no idea what to expect. I knew I would see intensity and emotion. I was really not prepared for the sheer level of this emotion and intensity that was portrayed by these actors. From the first moment, we knew it was going to be a strongly powerful and moving piece of theatre. The fact that these actors were portraying real people, there was a certain level of truthfulness that needed to be portrayed.
The show started off with some rough language, a warning I had received but not really prepared myself for. The language was prevalent throughout the whole play. As much as I want to say that it bothered me, there was an element of the characters that would have been lost without it. The perverse language and at time actions portrayed the life of the soldier pretty well. From this point on, I was hooked into the show. I was taken into the world that these soldiers were living in. The acting was spot on and although the language was at time difficult to understand due to the strong Scottish accent, it didn't deter from the story line.
The most riveting points of the performance were the choreographed moments throughout. The choreographed story of the Black Watch that included all of the changes in costume was simply fantastic. He never stopped moving and I was never able to take my eyes off of what was happening. Another exceedingly intense and powerful moment was the explosion. The creative portrayal of the car-bombing was emotional and tasteful as well. The emotion was strong throughout the piece and made the audience truly feel the emotion of the moment.
Overall the show was strong and had an amazing cast that could all sing, dance and act very well. From what I heard from the females attending the show as well, they were not bad to look at as well. The piece was emotional and I was enthralled throughout. I would strongly recommend this show to anyone who is looking for a powerful piece of drama. Black Watch runs through April 10 at the Broadway Armory. After Chicago Black Watch heads to New York where it runs for two weeks.
Rating 8.5/10
Theatremandan!
