Following a sell out run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2006 the critically acclaimed production of Black Watch has just finished a succesful tour of the USA.

Black Watch tells the story of Scotland's famous regiment through the words of soldiers serving in Iraq. Its use of documentary ‘verbatim’ material, gleaned from interviews with former soldiers, gives a compelling insight into the history of the Black Watch and the day-to-day lives of soldiers serving in Iraq.

The show has just finished a succesful run at the University of California in Los Angeles and in New York's St Ann’s Warehouse.

The award-winning production also formed part of the opening celebrations of the Scottish Parliament on June 30. First Minister Alex Salmond announced there would be a series of performances for the general public, veterans groups, parliamentarians and other invited guests.

The tour of Black Watch in the US and a number of complementary events were supported by the British Council.

During the Los Angeles performances at UCLA Live the British Council hosted a spectacular series of British Council Conversations: meaty, energetic public events with commentary and dialogue by high-profile figures from the military, media and the arts. They dug deeper into Black Watch and talked about our attitudes towards war and the military, the “special relationship” between the US and Britain, and what role the arts can play in discussing divisive social issues. Read more about the collateral events on the British Council USA website.

The company's production The Wolves in the Walls has been seen and loved by children, families and the young at heart across the UK, winning rave reviews, playing to sell out houses and has now been invited to play at The New Victory Theater in New York in September.  Taken from the book The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean  the production has been brought to life by a team of innovative and celebrated theatre-makers.

The National Theatre of Scotland's new production, Venus as a Boy, will also be featuring in this year’s Edinburgh Showcase – a British Council project to showcase the best contemporary theatre from the UK to an audience of international promoters and presenters.

Adapted from Luke Sutherland’s acclaimed novel, and performed by award-winning actor Tam Dean Burn, Venus as a Boy will appear at the Traverse Theatre during August as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

For more information on Black Watch visit the National Theatre of Scotland’s website. To find out more about our work in the arts visit the British Council Scotland website or the Edinburgh Showcase website.