Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Certainly, Burke's play is not a traditionally structured drama with clearly rising action. The rhythms ebb and flow, which may trouble a few. You might have to work to follow every word — although the sound reinforcement at the Armory is masterful, given that it manages to convey the intimacy of quiet conversation without dialing back the booming echo which is part of why the presenter, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, picked the Edgewater armory in the first place. But Burke teases out the crucial themes, even as he juggles both a palpable desire to be honest and, inevitably, a need to do right by the guys upon whose lives he intruded. First seen in Edinburgh in 2006, “Black Watch” caught the regiment at a moment of threat — from enemies without and within — and at a moment of inevitable redefinition. But warrior Celts, we come to see, will be around as long as Scotland."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...The military may have its own very specific definition of a “theater of war,” which involves geographical boundaries and strategic planning. But with the arrival here of “Black Watch,” the National Theatre of Scotland’s galvanic, angry, heart-shredding, physically thrilling touring production about the experiences of a group of soldiers stationed in Iraq — that phrase has been redefined. And it has been injected with an emotional ferocity that reaches every corner of the massive Broadway Armory where it is being presented by Chicago Shakespeare Theatre."
Examiner - Highly Recommended
"...At once viscerally emotional and physically stylized, Black Watch tells a war story both sharply distinctive from any other, and paradoxically universal in its specificity. And although the Scottish accents of the testosterone-fueled all-male cast may take more than a wee bit of getting accustomed to by U.S. audiences, there’s no missing the gut-punching power of the National Theatre of Scotland's touring production, brought to Chicago thanks to the formidable efforts of Chicago Shakespeare Theater's World Stage series."
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"...The Broadway Armory now hosts “Black Watch,” a production about the Scottish Army regiment of the same name and their experiences as part of the conflict in Iraq. It is theater as it should be: large, bold, moving, spectacular, funny, current, intimate, awe-inspiring. This play teaches us about ourselves and the community we live in: what lies behind the eyes of our fellow humans, what they’ve gone through, what they understand."
Chicago Stage Review - Highly Recommended
"...Just as with our military in the United States, the soldiers if the Black Watch were pawns tossed into Iraq because of political posturing more so than eminent threat. The numbers of soldiers are smaller but the stories are the same and the casualties are no less heartbreaking. Through this imaginative theatrical rendering we are confronted with what we so easily forget, that is the chaos of war that is happening somewhere else in the world and the struggles of the soldiers engaged in that conflict. Black Watch faithfully tells the stories of these soldiers by painting a staggering theatrical picture. If the chaos of war can be beautiful then this is what it looks like, but the beauty of the portrait never diminishes the horror of war’s reality."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...It’s the knife, rising and slicing through the felt of the pool table from below, that announces this is to be no staid docudrama. Up to then, Black Watch may have fooled you, with its naturalistic opening scenes, its interviewer character standing in for the playwright, interrogating a group of former soldiers in a pub about What It Was Like In Iraq. But then the pub fades away, the knife tears through and a pair of soldiers in full desert gear erupts from below, the interviewees’ memories come to vivid theatrical life."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...The cast works hard and exemplifies real soldiers in look and movement.I was particularly impressed by Paul Higgins who played the Sergent and the playwright. The Black Watch offers a glimpse into what the Brits really think of the US Army. This is a show with much theatricality, loads of heart and stirring emotions – but – it is really a truthful look at what it is to be a soldier fighting a strange war. It is not an anti-war show nor does it glorify war – it is an honest rendering of war from the point of view of the foot soldiers assigned to fight it. Too bad those thick brogues hinder our understanding of the dialogue."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...No question, “Black Watch,” like “Black Hawk Down,” is the stuff that hits our “hearts and minds” hard. These Scottish soldier actors are bold boys indeed as they strut about the stage in perfect formation or indulge in seemingly endless wrestling bouts to discharge the aggression that comes with the territory. But this is heavy going for an audience too, seated too close together in a too-hot armory auditorium. You could argue that the lack of comfort perversely fits the story--but the heavy and often impenetrable Scottish accents are a bigger barrier. They cry out for supertitles. When almost a third of the well-miked dialogue is nonetheless indecipherable, we can’t pretend that we know nearly as much as we see."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Based on actual interviews with soldiers who had lived the experience,Burke truly captures the feelings of these interviews into a warm and intimate history lesson filled with lots of emotions and showing how these men, despite their reasons for being in this unit, become a family, caring for one another, but at all times knowing that what they stand for is important to not just themselves and their country, but to the entire world- their job is to fight for those who truly need them. The ten men who are all over the stage through bombings, fights and training are as agile and talented as we will ever see and being Scots, they have great brogues."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...Black Watch ends with the soldiers marching in a parade of regimental solidarity backed by thunderous drums and bagpipes, and with the intense echo of the Broadway Armory, the volume reaches rock concert levels. As the music grows louder they march across the stage, helping any fallen men back to their feet, always returning to two lines of five soldier arms-width apart,. Their exactness in formation makes physical the strong emotional bonds built over the course of the play, and the roar of the music vibrates through the floor and into the crowd. The pride of the troop is now the pride of an audience, a brotherhood of theatergoers united by one magnificent production."