Review of Warriors: A Scottish Musical
Venue 21, C ARTS
August 5–30
Date seen: August 11, 2026
Reviewed by Howard Bunch and Gail Bronfman Bunch
We came to this performance to fill a gap in our schedule, without any information or knowledge about the work. Warriors tells the story of a group of four men and soldiers, who have known each other for years, being called to serve in Afghanistan.
This musical actually begins with an ending, with soldiers surrounding a fallen and dying comrade, so the audience knows from the first moments of the performance that it is only a matter of time, and who. This inevitability of death and loss is exactly what the writers of the script intended to convey as the reality of being a soldier.
After the show’s conclusion, we bought a programme to explore the background of the production, as well as the actors. Two of Warriors’ writers and lyricists are former soldiers in HM Forces, and the programme states that the show is written from their own experiences, with the intent of telling the story of “how soldiers deal with life, love, death, relationships, homosexuality and the mundane day to day…for current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
This mission was accomplished. The staging has a band as the backdrop to the actors’ work, playing rock and roll and ballads for the plot’s touchstones of male bonding, courtship, loneliness, love and the inevitable loss.
Bunch’s review: I think that the sense of inevitability to the plot kept me from really bonding with the characters, despite the cast’s best efforts. As the plot unfolded methodically towards its inevitable conclusion and the death shown in the first scene, for me, the characters really had no individual depth, personality or choices, because they were each written to represent an archetype, serving in the writers’ quest to create a story of the “universal soldier’s” experience of death, separation, loss and homosexuality.
I appreciated the entire ensemble, but the performances by Sam Rowlands as David, the squad’s leader, and swing Rajmund Olah as Dinger, a gay soldier, were especially captivating. Rowlands charismatically and ably captures the angst of leaving his new wife behind to go and serve his country because “he is a soldier”. Rowlands has a bright future ahead. Olah captures the essence of a man who has to hide who he truly is.
Perhaps if I were a soldier, I would have better understood and connected with this play, but I am not, and really did not connect. This is a musical, but I also did not connect with the rock and roll music, as it was played within the backdrop of the plot’s storyline occurring in Afghanistan, except for the ballad “High on Your Love”. (P.S. There is no Scottish music.)
I still give Warriors: A Scottish Musical four stars, knowing that others would connect with the work and its message much more than I was able to. I would just recommend reading about the play before you go!
Bronfman’s review: I wanted to fix the show’s long, unfilled pauses. This piece was written by retired military personnel with an appreciation of shared experience and the profound cost of military service. The outcome was known from the first scene, mourning a dead comrade, and it was clear throughout who was going to die.
Individual performers have great appeal and magnetism. I think there are wide spans within the show to fill with thoughts exchanged, feelings, and the fears, hopes and aspirations of each of the six characters. What I definitely miss is the utter senseless human expense of war as a whole, not just the experience of the soldier. It feels like a military recruiting project. I realise the threat of terror and the need for soldiers, but somehow we must find a way to negotiate with words.
Sam Rowlands has immense appeal and was so captivating and magnetic. I will find and watch his film performances.
Together, Bronfman and Bunch appreciated the actors’ individual performances but did not connect with the overall production.
Published rating: ⭐⭐⭐
