Latest news with #LEAR
The National
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
War and family collide in bold reworking of King Lear
That programme staged a style of audacious, gestural performance that was – and still is – quite rare in Scottish theatre. For sure, we have the brilliant, Lecoq-trained actor Sandy Grierson (lead performer in the recent, and fabulous, Confessions Of A Shinagawa Monkey), who combines exceptionally accomplished movement with superb verbal expression. However, for the kind of wordless theatre that was showcased at Aurora Nova, Scottish theatre lovers have to turn to excellent outliers like Company of Wolves and acclaimed theatre-maker and performer Al Seed. They also turn – and always with high expectations – to the work of the award-winning Scots-Singaporean artist Ramesh Meyyappan. READ MORE: Scotland's oil profits must not be used to exploit Gaza citizens, says Humza Yousaf With beautiful works such as Butterfly and Love Beyond, Meyyappan (who is Deaf) has consistently provided audiences with visually stunning and emotionally compelling pieces of physical theatre. His latest piece, entitled LEAR, is a fine addition to his impressive oeuvre. Inspired, needless to say, by Shakespeare's famous play King Lear, the show – which is produced by Glasgow-based company Raw Material in association with the National Theatre of Scotland – has just returned from its world premiere at the Singapore International Festival of Arts. The piece is set – we assume from the sandbags, Lear's greatcoat and the shell fire that characterises the conflict – during the First World War. Rendered profoundly Deaf by an exploding shell, Lear – not a king, but, we assume, an officer – returns home to his three daughters Goneril, Regan and Cordelia (who are given beautifully measured, emotive performances by Nicole Cooper, Amy Kennedy and Draya Maria). It is clear from the nature of his return that Lear has enjoyed the domestic status of a beloved and revered (and perhaps somewhat feared) pater familias. The daughters compete for the patriarch's attention and affection, and seek to ease him back into domestic life. However, Meyyappan's Lear is dragged into deep despair and frustration by his experience of war and his devastating injury. Memories, both terrifying and consoling, flood his mind and are given, by turns, powerful and humorous expression by Meyyappan. A scene in which the man – his mind twisted beyond his control – turns upon his beloved daughters is genuinely, viscerally shocking. The production is stylish and precise, thanks to director Orla O'Loughlin and dramaturg Lu Kemp. It is played on an excellent, minimalist set, designed expertly by Anna Orton and lit intelligently by Derek Anderson. It also boasts music and sound (composed by the ever-impressive David Paul Jones) that is always perfectly attuned to the action. In its relocation of Shakespeare's famous protagonist to an appalling, modern conflict, LEAR renders the man both more human and more frightening. Once again – as both writer and performer – Meyyappan succeeds in captivating our minds and our senses. At Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, June 5-7:
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Woman Dragged From Republican Town Hall Seeks $5 Million In Damages
When Teresa Borrenpohl was dragged out of an Idaho town hall in February over her aggressive questioning of Republican officials — by dark-clad men who refused to identify themselves — it seemed like a scene ripped from The Handmaid's Tale, replete with a man on stage mocking her: 'She spoke up, and now she doesn't want to suffer the consequences.' The incident sparked national headlines, including coverage in The New York Times. And when Borrenpohl was initially cited with battery for resisting, the case seemed a dark harbinger for the erosion of civil liberties in the new Trump era. In recent days, however, the justice system appears to be righting itself. The Coeur D'Alene city attorney has filed battery and false imprisonment charges stemming from the town hall incident. Separately, Borrenpohl has moved to file a $5 million lawsuit against the sheriff; the men who dragged her from the town hall; and others she blames for her injuries, both constitutional and physical. The First Amendment nightmare unfolded on the afternoon of February 22, at a town hall meeting of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, held at the auditorium of Coeur D'Alene High School in northern Idaho. Borrenpohl, who previously ran for an Idaho state House seat as a Democrat, was a vociferous participant in the meeting, and was not shy about addressing local officials out of turn, including hollering at a moderator who asked the audience to pipe down: 'Is this a town hall or a lecture?' After these interruptions, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris approached Borrenpohl and told her to 'get up or get escorted out.' When she did not move, Borrenpohl was swarmed by men in dark shirts, who seized Borrenpohl by the arms and legs and literally dragged her from the auditorium. As seen on video, these men did not wear uniforms or identify themselves, and they ignored audience members who demanded they produce badges. It emerged later that these men were not in fact Norris' deputies; rather they were affiliated with a private security firm, LEAR Asset Management, which had volunteered its services for the event. (LEAR has since seen the city of Coeur D'Alene revoke its business license, reportedly for posing 'an immediate danger to the safety of the public.') Late last week, the City Attorney's office in Coeur D'Alene charged six men with crimes in relation to the town hall event. Four — Paul Trouette, Russell Dunne, Chistofer Berge, and Jesse Jones — are facing battery and false imprisonment charges. These four, along with a fifth man, also face charges for violating the duties, and the uniform requirements, of 'security agents.' A sixth man, apparently not involved with LEAR, Michael Keller, was also charged with battery. The treatment of Borrenpohl became national news, but a police report of the incident also identifies three other 'victims' from the town hall. The city attorney's charging announcement does not clarify who allegedly victimized whom. Sheriff Norris is also reportedly under investigation, but neither the Kootenai County Sheriff Department nor the Idaho Attorney General's office, which has oversight of elected sheriffs, responded to Rolling Stone requests for comment. On Monday, Borrenpohl filed a 'tort claim' — initiating civil litigation — against the sheriff, LEAR, Trouette, Dunne, Jones, and several others, seeking 'at least' $5 million in damages. Her complaint reads in part: 'Ms. Borrenpohl was fearful for her safety throughout the time the men assaulted her.' It adds: 'Because the men were unidentified, because Sheriff Norris directed them to physically remove her, and because of the manner in which they dragged her from the auditorium, Ms. Borrenpohl feared that she was being kidnapped.' Wendy Olson, an attorney for Borrenpohl, called the tort claim 'the first step' in 'pursuing justice for Teresa,' and she added: 'We have put the county on notice that its public officials intentionally obstructed Teresa's constitutional rights and physically assaulted her in the process.' More from Rolling Stone Trump and Republicans Are Leading an Open Assault on Free Elections 'Gun to the Head': Harvard Professors Sue Trump Admin Over Review of $9 Billion in Funding St. Lunatics Member Drops Lawsuit Against Nelly Over 'Country Grammar' Credits Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
