About a month ago Dave bought tickets to a play. I know– way to take some initiative, right?! The play was called Black Watch and the tickets were for this weekend.

If you know anything about military history (I do not), then you probably know that Black Watch is Scottish infantry regiment of historical significance. Let’s just say I was less than amused when I found that out. Yay, a war play (*eye roll*). But I kept a positive attitude and didn’t complain (much).

On Saturday night, I got all dressed up, Dave put on a clean shirt (don’t worry, he still wore sneakers and jeans), and we headed to Chinatown. The Shakespeare Theater is beautiful; not sure how I’ve managed to pass it a zillion times without noticing.

It turns out Black Watch is about a group of Scottish soldiers who deployed to Iraq during the recent war. The production is launching it’s second international tour and Washington, DC is the first stop. This is the sign that greets you when you get to the theater:

I looked at Dave, batted my eyelashes, and said, “you had me at strong language and strobe lights.” Little did I know, Scottish people bring strong language to a whole ‘nother level. Thirty seconds in, I had already heard the c-word(!) twice. And it only got worse better from there. Pro tip: bring a flask and make it a drinking game. The play itself was excellent, but I have to admit that part of the entertainment included watching all the stuffy old theater folks’ eyes widen at the uniquely Scottish profanity. As for the strobe lights, nobody had a seizure….

No cameras allowed, but I managed to sneak this picture of us. I know, I’m such a rebel:

Other highlights of Black Watch included: penis pranks, bar fights and lots of football (soccer) references that I didn’t understand. Yet somehow, by the end, I was moved to tears as the bagpipes played and the Black Watch went into battle for the last time. It’s a powerful play that captures the spirit of the modern soldier to a tee. Reminded me a lot of my years in Jacksonville, North Carolina, home of Camp Lejeune and the military bar where I picked up my husband.

Black Watch was excellent, but wouldn’t have been my choice. I guess this is what I get for telling Dave to take the lead on date night. Next time it’ll be all pedicures and bargain shopping.