The play Black Diggers, by Tom Wright, involves many themes and ideas, including belonging, truth, and the hope of fighting racism and leaving a positive legacy. These themes are evident throughout the play, and are especially prominent in the “Old Soldier monologue” from pages 91-93. Ern (the “Old Soldier”), is given a reflective monologue, set in 1956, which encapsulates many of the key themes and ideas in the play, before bringing it to a close. The play takes place in several different times, not in chronological order, between 1887 and 1993, which provides a disjointed feeling to the play, and a wide range of contexts that allows for a larger variety of attitudes and ideas involving the characters, and change (or lack thereof) of those
