The Stage

BBC to screen National Theatre of Scotland hit Black Watch

Published Tuesday 29 May 2007 at 15:50 by Matthew Hemley

Acclaimed theatre production Black Watch has been filmed by the BBC and will be broadcast alongside a documentary about the show.

The National Theatre of Scotland production, which is based on interviews with soldiers who served in Iraq, was filmed by the BBC during its recent run in Dingwall and is due to go out later this year.

The accompanying documentary will include interviews with soldiers whose accounts are used in the play and mothers whose sons were killed in Iraq. It will also feature audience responses to the production.

Although filmed by BBC Scotland for its Artworks strand, director of the stage production John Tiffany said BBC4 was likely to broadcast it too.

He said: “The BBC have filmed the whole thing up as a piece of theatre - we are not pretending for a second that it’s a TV drama We have filmed the whole thing and I think it will look quite good. Theatre on television often leaves me cold, but the BBC have put a lot of money into this. I think BBC4 will be interested in picking it up as it will sit well in their schedule.”

Although Tiffany staged the theatre production, he said a television director had been brought in to make judgements on how best to film it for the small screen.

He said: “I was quite glad just to let the director go and film it and interested to see what he would pick up. In theatre, we don’t lead an audience around with a camera - it’s very democratic and you can sit and watch what you want.”

Tiffany said he was currently preparing Black Watch for an international tour, but that details had not been finalised.

The National Theatre of Scotland is also in discussion with the Barbican to secure a venue for the show in London.

BBC Radio 3 will broadcast a radio version of Black Watch on June 10, but no date has been set for the televised production.