Black Watch, Barbican, review - Telegraph

Looking for a quiet night at the theatre? This isn’t it:

In a great week for Caledonian theatre in London, the National Theatre of Scotland’s acclaimed Black Watch, about the famous regiment’s experiences in Iraq, has returned for a second run at the Barbican. It is a thrilling piece, combining verbatim theatre, in which the soldiers describe their thoughts and feelings about the war, with spectacular choreography and explosive battle effects.

I have reservations, not least the fact that few of the characters emerge as fully-rounded individuals. But the precision and passion of the new ensemble in John Tiffany’s staging is remarkable, while the raw emotion of the piece, with a script by Gregory Burke and stirring music by Davey Anderson, proves deeply affecting.

The theatre of war may now have moved on to Afghanistan, but the play forcefully reminds us of the enduring courage and sacrifice of British troops – not least in the brilliantly staged scene in which three men are blown up by an IED.

With all the flashing lights and bang-bang audio, the play occasionally teetered into sensory overload, but it was still brilliantly staged and acted. Highly recommended.

How the military improved its language education - Boing Boing

Cultural Imperialism for Dummies:

We may ask why the US sends troops abroad, but the fact is that we do send large numbers into a region about which they have little knowledge and almost no cultural connection. We then ask them to interact safely and efficiently with military and civilian natives. These interactions require varying levels of linguistic, cultural, and interpersonal background. As a foreign language educator, I am fascinated by the evolution of the training materials given to US soldiers and how cultural visual knowledge plays and increasingly important role.