Katherine MacAlister talks to Rebecca Crookshank about a cathartic show

Naively I had assumed that Whisky Tango Foxtrot was a whimsical jaunt through an RAF career with a 1930s sepia tint, a Dads’ Army type show from a women’s perspective. But halfway through my interview with Rebecca Crookshank my smile was wiped off my face as I realised I’d heard her story before as part of a hard-hitting news expose into sexism and abuse in the armed forces.

Rebecca confirmed that yes the worldwide five million Youtube and Facebook phenomenon did indeed feature her clip of initiation trials including naked men wearing rubber gloves, and a welcoming party of flashers when she landed on the Falklands for training.

And yes it was she who had to lock her door at night in fear of marauding and inebriated male colleagues continually plaguing her, being tied up and left for a joke in a forest, and that she became unable to carry out the one thing she had set out to do – her job.

Her complaints got nowhere. Officials brushed her off, interviewed her in her bedroom and took her up in a Tornado to keep her quiet. “No one in the RAF listened to me,” she said. “I was told to keep my mouth shut or get a bad report.”

Looking back now she finds it extraordinary that she accepted this behaviour and went along with it for so long, that it took her own show to highlight the innate sexism she experienced, and in so doing, paved the way for women to work in the armed forces without harassment. “One thing’s for sure, they don’t look after you.”

The result is Whisky Tango Foxtrot, Rebecca’s brave, funny and stark account of her RAF experience and her “official complaint”.

She left the RAF in 2001, went to drama college, and moved on, but all the time her story was bubbling away underneath, unanswered, unaired, demanding an explanation, requiring change. And so eventually Rebecca wrote it down and turned it into the one-woman show. “ Initially I was too scared to show the accompanying footage, but when I showed it at a scratch night and talked to the audience afterwards, it gave me the confidence and courage to show the full story.”

Whisky Tango Foxtrot premiered at Edinburgh where it won countless awards and was nominated for scores of others. “It was really overwhelming, because not only did it bring attention to the problem but helped others share similar experiences. It proved that the show has got weight and that art has the potential to create change.”

The ensuing Ch4 piece then went viral. In short Rebecca had got people talking about institutional sexism and harassment. “I am just trying to change the culture,” Rebecca shrugs. “I felt a duty to tell this story and to share it because until then it was hard to articulate what had happened even though I knew it was wrong. I thought the RAF was going to be a big adventure, but nearly 20 years later I’m not sure how much has changed.”

So what does Rebecca want now? “I want women joining the armed forces to be left alone to get on with their job regardless of their gender. The current culture is completely unacceptable.

“So if this helps other people it’s been worth it.”

Where and when
Whisky Tango Foxtrot 
Old Fire Station 
March 10
oldfirestation.org.uk 01865 263980