Latest news with #Lecoq
Scotsman
04-08-2025
- Automotive
- Scotsman
Fringe theatre reviews: Terry's: An American Tragedy About Cars, Customers and Selling Cars to Customers + more
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... THEATRE Terry's: An American Tragedy About Cars, Customers and Selling Cars to Customers Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 60) ★★★★☆ In world where it's 'better to be dead than in the red,' the military precision of peak capitalism is captured in this slick comedy set in the sales team of a US car dealership. Top seller Sheila is a 'Ford girl', fresh-faced honours student Kelly is looking to earn her branded T-shirt, Henri from France needs to get this month's bonus to pay for his visa application, and all of them are overseen by (Major) Tom who's, in turn, overseen by the unseen and uncompromising owner, Terry. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Terry's An American Tragedy About Cars, Customers, and Selling Cars to Customers | Contributed With the brightly painted cartoon-like sheen of a freshly-sprayed bonnet, it pairs a Wes Anderson-style heightened reality with the potted production design of an attic-based Fringe show, including bunting, balloons and a glitter curtain swaying to the boom, boom sound of a marching drum. Developed from clowning (the company trained at Lecoq), Terry's is sharply directed and punchily performed with a smartly scripted structure that turns marketing jargon into a hilarious and horrifying poetry. It rattles along as the team attempt to outsell one another using real and surreal strategies during the build-up to Memorial Day. Making a killing and simply killing are never far apart in this American Dream-turned-nightmare, and the writing and performances that pastiche this are deliciously funny, with the real-life horrors of the US today rippling beneath the surface but never quite puncturing the tyres. While the ending captures the bleakness of individuals trapped inside an endless selling machine, the pain and destruction caused by the relationship between capitalism and war feels like it could be addressed more thoroughly through the serious collision that everyone is clearly heading towards. Pop goes the balloon, when what is really needed is a full-scale David Lynchian crash. SALLY STOTT Until 25 August THEATRE Disco 2000 Thistle Theatre at Greenside @ Riddles Court (Venue 16) ★★★★☆ Disco 2000 charts the relationship between Bonnie and Amelia, as it flits between the present-day (Bonnie frantically preparing a fancy dinner party to impress Amelia after years apart), and back when everything felt simpler and the pair were inseparable. We immediately understand the sterility of adult life compared to those halcyon days, as adult Bonnie obsesses over Amelia's Instagram and child Amelia explains longingly how she's always wanted layers in her hair. Arabella Finch and Stella Cohen portray Bonnie and Amelia with warmth and generosity, perfectly capturing the emotional intensity and clarity of those first friendships - when you were forced to scrounge whatever food your parents had left lying around, when the ranking of best friends was Really Important, when the reality of moving abroad felt irrelevant and unknowable. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The innocence of young Bonnie and Amelia serves as a love letter to the simplicity of pre-teenage connection; for those of us who spent many hours choreographing the perfect dance routine with which to wow our parents, their skits will be especially nostalgic. However, Hedge Maze Theatre also chooses to touch on the beauty of adulthood – having autonomy over where you go, what items you buy to decorate your house. Disco 2000 cleverly waits to introduce adult Amelia until the very end, leaving us to plug the gaps with child Amelia's rowdiness – in doing so, we experience Bonnie's anxieties around reintroducing herself to someone who is now effectively a stranger. And while the ending itself may be neater than messy human relationships would necessarily allow, it's also a much-needed reminder that people can come back into our lives if we're brave enough to ask them. Fundamentally, Disco 2000 will leave you thinking about your childhood friends, and wondering if you can smooth over the callouses of time with a quick Instagram message. ARIANE BRANIGAN Until 9 August Make sure you keep up to date with Arts and Culture news from across Scotland by signing up to our free newsletter here. THEATRE 8-Bit Dream C Aquila (Venue 21) ★★★☆☆ With climate insecurity, fast-disappearing jobs and the relentless demands of self-entrepreneurship, young people have plenty to trouble them in 2025. Weren't things better in the good old days of analogue communications, dodgy jokes on TV and easy comradeship? Macready Theatre Young Actors' Company dares to prod and poke at some unsettling questions – and, it has to be said, dares to confuse and infuriate too – in the brief but potent and technically elaborate 8-Bit Dream. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Apparently trapped in a decades-old TV show, seven young people run over random lines and intricate choreographed movements in ways that sometimes coalesce, other times run off at meaningless tangents, all under the gaze and incessant demands of an unseen director. Is this a satire on the demands of the stage industry, or even the more fundamental requirements of contemporary student life? It's never entirely clear – but it quickly becomes apparent that these youngsters are programmed to comply, and that resistance ends up with ejection. You couldn't accuse the show of over-amplifying its message – if anything, its meanings remain elusive. But it's a clever, colourful creation that delves deep into the absurd, even if the relentless search for meaning might ultimately seem futile. DAVID KETTLE Until 10 August THEATRE Unprofessional theSpace @ Niddry St (Venue 9) ★★☆☆☆ Clearly influenced by The Play That Goes Wrong it's fair to say that Oisín Byrne's new comedy about an actor will wrong-foot audiences a couple of times but it's a device that quickly falls flat. The metafictional structure follows Guy as he struggles with crap jobs and a crap life as each successive scene is scuppered by missed cues and technical gaffes. To carry this sort of conceit off you have to be really talented and while the cast are fine when called upon to be competent they don't manage to make awkward pauses anything more than… well, just awkward. RORY FORD Until 9 August THEATRE A Murder in Motley Greenside @ Riddles Court (Venue 16) ★★☆☆☆ There's a neat idea in Kiera Joyce's Shakespearean pastiche set in early 17th century England. Initially presented as the murder trial of a fool, the audience are given cards to deliver their verdict after watching proceedings. However, the most likely final verdict is 'not proven' as the script is unclear as to who's been murdered or what the possible motivations may be. Performances veer between big theatrical declamations and ill-judged naturalism (which can't compete with the whirr of the air conditioning) and, fatally, it carries on for too long after the verdict. RORY FORD Until 9 August THEATRE Nightmares by Sandy Jack theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39) ★★☆☆☆ Sandy Jack is the Edinburgh horror enthusiast behind such cheap and cheerful Frighthouse productions as Wheel of Misfortune. This is his most serious (and seemingly personal) project yet and while it's not entirely successful, it is clearly a more mature work. A series of vignettes based on Jack's dreams – grotesque clowns feature heavily – this has effective sound design and demonstrates an intent to discomfit rather than easily entertain. Eschewing campy horror, this occasionally carries the authentic weirdness of outsider art. It's not great but it is great that Jack continues to practise his craft. RORY FORD Until 9 August THEATRE Horatio, in Thy Heart Snug at Paradise in Augustines (Venue 152) ★★☆☆☆ Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A spin-off from the Shakespeare classic, in this version Horatio himself falls for Hamlet. Playing the title character but wildly stepping in for all the parts, performer Merlin Stevens does well to amplify the distinctive voice of his Horatio. This hour-through monologue is constituted by detailed references to Denmark's monarchy and Greek mythology, and whilst I must commend Achy Bits Productions for their extensive research informing the production, the result becomes slow and difficult to follow. Even meticulous lighting design cannot save Horatio from his weary audience, awoken only by monotone voiceovers and the occasional song. RÓISIN MCMULLAN
Miami Herald
29-04-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Elusive creature — declared extinct decades ago — now rediscovered in Cape Verde
In 1980, researcher Michel Lecoq discovered a new species of grasshopper on Cape Verde's São Nicolau island in Monte Gordo Natural Park. He found a single male specimen, and despite years of searching the archipelago, he never found another. After 1982, Lecoq declared Eyprepocprifas insularis, also known as the Monte Gordo grasshopper, extinct, according to a study published April 24 in the Journal of Orthoptera Research. Nearly 40 years later, in 2023, two researchers rediscovered the species in Monte Gordo Natural Park — the same park where Lecoq discovered it decades earlier, according to the study. They also made the first record of a female of the species, which can be up to twice as large as the males, researchers said. The grasshoppers were found high in the mountains, all at elevations above 2,130 feet, according to the study. The Monte Gordo grasshopper is brachypterous, the study said, which means it has small, reduced wings. These types of wings are often unable to sustain flight, according to experts. Its 'very long hind legs' allow it to jump 'exceptionally far,' researchers said. Researchers said the species is found only on São Nicolau island, which was created by a volcano and is believed to be about 5 million years old, according to the study. The Monte Gordo grasshopper, which researchers call a 'living fossil,' is 'not closely related to known African counterparts,' suggesting the species has evolved in isolation on the island for a long time. Researchers were surprised to discover that the species has an 'extraordinarily thick' exoskeleton. 'Mounting specimens of E. insularis proved quite challenging due to the remarkable difficulty of piercing them with a pin. Surprisingly, an exceptional amount of force was required,' researchers said in the study. The reinforced exoskeleton may be an evolutionary adaption to the island's arid climate where years can pass between rainfall, possibly protecting the grasshopper from excessive water loss or providing enhanced resilience to environmental stress. Researchers recommend the species be designated with vulnerable status on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. The research team included Rob Felix, Annelies Jacobs and Lecoq.
Ya Biladi
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
French MP criticizes Macron over Western Sahara map display in French National Assembly
French Communist MP Jean-Paul Lecoq, known for his support of the Polisario Front and Algeria, has strongly criticized the display of a map of Morocco that includes the Sahara in a room of the French National Assembly. «I noticed that the world map in our Foreign Affairs Committee room had been replaced. The previous map (the one used by the UN) distinguished Western Sahara from Morocco with different colors, thus respecting international law. Now, this new map represents these two territories with the same color, suggesting a Moroccan Sahara. This aligns with the wishes of the President of the Republic», said Lecoq. «The President of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Fuchs (from the Democratic Movement led by Prime Minister Bayrou, ed.), made this decision alone, without discussing it with the Vice-Presidents», Lecoq denounced, supported by Clémentine Autain (formerly of LFI). The Communist MP strongly criticized Macron's policy on the issue, accusing him of having «given Western Sahara to Morocco without consulting anyone». According to Lecoq, it is the recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara that strained relations between Paris and Algiers, not the arrest of writer Boualem Sansal. To recall, on October 29, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs published on its website the full map of Morocco, including the Sahara, officially marking France's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the territory. This position was reaffirmed by President Emmanuel Macron in his speech to the Moroccan Parliament, as well as in a letter dated July 30 addressed to King Mohammed VI. In June 2018, Jean-Paul Lecoq initiated the creation of the «International Network of Parliamentarians for the Self-Determination of Western Sahara», an initiative supported by Algeria, at the headquarters of the French National Assembly. In March 2024, he organized a parliamentary session focused on examining the exploitation of the Sahara's resources by Morocco. When not hosting meetings in support of the Polisario, Lecoq organizes visits to the Lower House's headquarters for members of the Front.
