By Lt Col Gordon Mackenzie, Project director, Army@TheFringe

DIVERSITY, many would agree, has often been a challenge for the Army. There are an abundance of issues around ethnicity, gender and sexuality that we need to address openly and to discuss with the community as a whole.

In August we are providing a platform for that to happen when, for only the second time, the Army has its own venue and arts programme at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe festival – Army@TheFringe.

The project, in association with Summerhall, will see us host a series of performing arts productions, plus an exhibition, that reflect on the experiences of women, LGBT+, ethnic minority and foreign and Commonwealth soldiers and their families. Some are from a historical perspective, others are about the present and have implications for the future.

One of the most spectacular pieces will be The Troth. Based on Chandradhar Sharma Guleri’s 100-year-old Hindi short story and told through dance, music and archive film, it shines a light on the experiences of the vast numbers of Indian soldiers who fought in the trenches. There is still too little awareness of the role and sacrifice of people from places such as India and Africa who have served, often in large numbers, in so many conflicts.

Another production is Forget Me Nots, which tells the story of an Icelandic man and a British soldier who fall in love during the Second World War. Many will remember, not that many years ago, the fears expressed by some people that discipline would suffer if the Army allowed openly gay soldiers. The rules changed, discipline didn’t suffer.

Ditto the growing role of women. In Afghanistan we were at our most effective when we developed trust and were seen as a positive force in communities. That meant negotiating with local women, discussing things like how to provide better facilities and education. It was often our women soldiers who led the way, and achieved superb results. But, while they now hold many different posts, we are noticeably behind the US military in having women in the Army’s most senior echelons.

Similarly while we have moved a long way in terms of policy and practice to ensure equality, there is still plenty to do to ensure that individuals do not feel excluded or ill-treated because of their ethnicity, gender or sexuality.

Army@TheFringe provides a time and space to get people thinking and talking about every aspect of military life.

The productions are not directly commissioned by us and are chosen for their artistic quality and the issues they address. Many have challenging and uncomfortable things to say. This year Shell Shock and Wired will be looking at mental illness and the stigma that surrounds it both in the Army and in civilian life.

The venue itself is at Hepburn House, a New Town drill hall with its own distinctive role in Army history. It’s staffed by soldiers, with drinks and snacks in the Mess and after-show discussions where people can raise issues with the cast and with the Army.

These days, long after the disappearance of National Service and with a military that is smaller than in the past, fewer people have much contact with and likewise we have less direct contact with large parts of society. And there are some sections that can feel very distant from us.The arts with their capacity to highlight issues, to be observant and critical, and to convey profound truths, allow us to build links and encourage debate.

As society’s Army we want to engage with everyone and this, we hope, is an effective way to do that. See www.summerhall.co.uk.