Latest news with #MarkFisher
Scotsman
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The Nature of Forgetting: 'dream-like exploration of the mind' returns to the Edinburgh Fringe
First seen at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017, and returning again this year following multiple international tours, Theatre Re's acclaimed show about a middle-aged man with early-onset dementia asks 'what is left when memory is gone?' Mark Fisher meets the creative team behind the production 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... How do you hold onto a memory? The question has a double meaning for Theatre Re. The international touring ensemble, based in Hampshire, is returning to the Edinburgh Fringe with a show that first drew rave reviews in 2017. It is about Tom, a 55-year-old father who is surrounded by his fading memories. As early-onset dementia sets in, he moves fluidly from past to present and back again in a dream-like exploration of the mind. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Theatre Re's The Nature of Forgetting | Johan Persson On the face of it, the theme is dementia, but it goes further to consider what it means for any of us to live in the moment. Performed with few words, it asks the question, 'What is left when memory is gone?' Back then, it was part of the British Council Edinburgh Showcase and was described as 'a deeply moving look at a life lived'. Eight years after it drew such acclaim, with subsequent tours to the USA, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mexico, China and Europe, has the show itself become a memory? How does the creative team keep alive the spark that so moved audiences the first time around? For director and performer Guillaume Pigé, it is a matter of coming to each performance afresh. 'I'm constantly thinking forward,' he says. 'What are the new connections? What are the new discoveries? When we're on stage, the show changes because it's alive and it has to change. I never thought of it as trying to remember it, it's more about rediscovering it, reinventing it, breathing new life that reveals something.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The same is true for his collaborators, including lighting designer Katherine Graham and composer Alex Judd. Similarly responsive to changing times and circumstances, they say their work is never done. 'The show continues to yield new discoveries,' says Graham, relishing the chance to see The Nature of Forgetting on the big stage of the Pleasance Grand, where Ross Hayward will be responsible for the re-lighting. 'We get to keep making it, keep shaping it and rediscovering as we go.' The Nature of Forgetting | Johan Persson Judd has a similarly fluid attitude to his live score, which uses keyboard, violin and percussion. 'I've performed the show over 100 times and it still feels as fresh as the first time,' he says. 'While the piece is very structured, there is room for improvisation within the sections. You're always looking to bring in new flavours, new spices, to keep it fresh and to keep you on your toes.' Music has a special place in a show about dementia because our memory for melody and song is often the most resilient. 'I wanted a close connection between the memory and the music,' says Judd. 'For example, in the wedding scene, I wanted music that gives a sense of nostalgia that's attached to your wedding dance.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Their approach means they are as energised about doing the show in 2025 as they were when it was created. Far from being bored by repetition, they are enthused about finding new layers in a work that becomes richer over time. 'What has become more important to me is the value of the present moment,' says Pigé, who plays Tom. 'I'm constantly thinking about the past or the future. I realise with my young children that it's difficult for me to just be there in the moment for them. I link it with the show because when you are living with dementia, your hippocampus is being damaged: you can't predict the future and you can't recollect the past. You are only in the present.' Theatre Re's The Nature of Forgetting | Johan Persson It is a happy coincidence that the theme of dementia fits well with Theatre Re's visual style. Pigé set up the company in 2011 after training in the tradition of corporeal mime established by Etienne Decroux. His half-dozen productions have foregrounded movement, image and sound. 'There is a little bit of luck here,' he says. 'We were interested in how memory works and what happens in the brain when we remember. We collaborated with neuroscience professor Kate Jeffery and it just so happened that memory works visually. When you remember something, you construct the space. If you think of your first kiss at school, you remember first the classroom, the desk, the people that are involved, then the actual event. Our visual-theatre medium suddenly becomes very powerful to give a glimpse of what happens in someone's mind. We're able to use the stage as a mental landscape.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It is an approach that creates a shortcut to the audience's emotions. 'Because we're bypassing language, there's an openness there,' says Graham. 'It's not so abstract that it could mean anything, but there is a space for the audience to find their own resonances. The bits the get me – when I'm weeping up the back – are different each time.'
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The NHS rule change that will finally see hospitals across Greater Manchester transformed
Greater Manchester could see four major hospital rebuilds and new developments amid changes to frustrating rules that stopped the region from transforming crumbling buildings. After a years-long mission to get the funding, and a Manchester Evening News campaign, up to £1.5bn was finally approved by the government for the overhaul of the Victorian-era North Manchester General Hospital. But NHS capital spending rules have prevented three other major hospital building projects in Greater Manchester. Changes to those rules could break logjams for Stepping Hill Hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital, and The Christie Hospital, says the region's NHS chief. READ MORE: Why is the M60 still closed after 24 hours? READ MORE: Second boy, 16, who died in railway tracks tragedy named as family pay moving tribute That could pave the way for huge rebuilds needed by patients and staff to make their hospital fit for the modern day, adds the health boss. Last year, staff at Stepping Hill units were forced to move patients out and close because of structural degradation. One outpatient building of the Stockport hospital had to be demolished because it was too unsafe to be used. Never miss a story with the MEN's daily Catch Up newsletter - get it in your inbox by signing up here The government announced its 10-year plan for the health service – after a year of promising a vision that could save a limping NHS. After six years of planning and waiting for the go-ahead, the proposals to rebuild North Manchester General Hospital through the government's New Hospitals Programme at last got confirmed funding earlier this year. But the chief executive of NHS Greater Manchester, Mark Fisher, has previously railed against NHS red tape preventing construction at Stepping Hill, Wythenshawe Hospital, and The Christie. Those building projects rely on capital spending – different from the government's ringfenced New Hospital Programme, which only includes a small number of chosen hospitals around the country. Capital spending is the funding allocated for long-term investments in fixed assets, such as new buildings, major equipment, and IT infrastructure. It's different from revenue spending, which covers day-to-day operations. The plan pledges to set health bosses free from those tight capital spending rules that have prevented progress. 'I do think that this is a really important part of the plan,' Mr Fisher told the Manchester Evening News. 'In this year we've had more capital than we've had for many years before. We're getting more NHS capital… '[The plan] talks about wider partnerships in terms of capital funding. I'd call out two really big examples. The Manchester University Foundation Trust has got really exciting plans to rebuild the Wythenshawe Hospital. 'That relies on working with partners, and the words of the plan, if we can deliver on them, will allow a massive, significant rebuild of that hospital. 'The same is true of Stepping Hill in Stockport. [With] those two hospitals together, I'm really excited about the potential we've now got for making big moves on the hospital estate – alongside the exciting plans we already have for North Manchester, which are already in the NHS programme. 'You can see that building has already started there and that's a really exciting programme. But I'd be delighted if we can make progress on three big hospital rebuilds, not just the one. So I think those things coming together are really exciting for us.' Those 'wider partnerships' mentioned by the government in the 10-year plan have prompted concern, as it appears to encourage private funding for big projects. The NHS' private finance initiative (PFI) scandal through the 2000s led to projects built with high interest rates, meaning debts of millions for hospitals. Those increased costs resulted in the slashing of services and even hospital closures. However, funding does not strictly have to come from private sources, Mr Fisher reminds says. The 'words in the plan' make more room generally for capital spending wherever the money is coming from, says the health boss. 'It doesn't need to be [privately financed], actually. The plan in Stockport relies on local government as our partner, actually. '[It's] not necessarily private partners. The plan in Wythenshawe is a bit more complicated.' Alongside the hospitals crying out for major refurbishments, The Christie will be able to start developing new buildings that it has long had £100m of its own money for – another project that might not need private backing. 'The Christie also has big capital plans, which I'm hoping the 10-year plan will allow now to be fulfilled. That bit of the plan is really exciting,' says Mr Fisher. 'The Christie plan is actually all about spending the money it's already got. It has the cash in the bank, it cannot spend it because of the way the capital rules work. 'A lot of that has been raised charitably. That's the issue for The Christie. This plan gives them the opportunity to really enhance cancer services in Greater Manchester and well-beyond. 'The Christie is a world-leading cancer hospital and for them, and for all of us, that's really exciting.' The North Manchester General Hospital rebuild was so close to starting, with much groundwork already completed, many people think it was the key to keeping the pressure on the government to finally approve the full funding this year. Mr Fisher says that approach must continue for the other hospitals awaiting development. I just think we need to make as much progress as we possibly can every year,' he said. 'With those capital projects, we need to get boots on the ground. These things have a momentum of their own once you start them. 'We need to create another momentum about this plan that it's like a no-brainer to just carry on with it. You can see the seeds in this plan in Greater Manchester going back over the last few years – the focus on prevention, the focus on neighbourhood health. 'We've been at that in Great Manchester since the early years of devolution. So I think this has got a history as well as a future.'
BBC News
04-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Greater Manchester health hubs 'already making difference'
Greater Manchester has had a head-start implementing neighbourhood health services, part of the government's 10-year plan for the NHS, and it has already improved life expectancy figures, the region's health boss has said. Sir Keir Starmer's plan to "rewire" the health service is based on moving patients out of hospitals and into neighbourhood health Greater Manchester chief executive Mark Fisher said the region had already established hubs in Hyde and Gorton. "You can already see that these sorts of approaches... have increased life expectancy in Greater Manchester more than the average in England," he said. Starmer announced on Wednesday that over the next decade, about 200 new neighbourhood health centres would be set up, staffed by a mix of GPs, nurses, social care workers, pharmacists, mental health specialists and other Fisher said neighbourhood health services were already in place in Greater Manchester."This focus on prevention... the focus on moving care into neighbourhoods - you can see that they bear fruit." 'Real difference' He said Mayor Andy Burnham's proposed "live well" centres, which would see job, benefits, health and housing services based in the same place, were also being funded by the NHS. "I think about 19% of people who go into an appointment with a GP in Greater Manchester do not actually have a health need, it's a debt need or they need advice on their housing," Mr Fisher told BBC Radio Manchester. "So if you go to the Gorton hub for example... you'll get help with your debt alongside help with your housing alongside that GP appointment."It's seeing people addressing all their needs I think that's going to make a real difference." The planned neighbourhood health hub centres will eventually be open 12 hours a day, six days a week, the government has the Royal College of Nursing warned that moving services out of overcrowded hospitals would be impossible without policies to boost the "depleted and undervalued" nursing workforce.A new workforce plan for the health service is expected to be announced later this year which will set targets to recruit new staff to work in community care. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Global News
17-06-2025
- Business
- Global News
Troubled Ontario school board cutting staff to save $4.7M
A massive deficit is leading the Thames Valley District School Board to make massive cuts to staffing in an effort to save $4.7 million. The board said in a statement it's implementing a series of 'staffing adjustments' at the central board offices as part of its ongoing financial recovery efforts. The board would not confirm the number of cuts; a representative for the board said in a statement the cuts would result in $4.7 million in savings on salaries and benefits. This comes amid several other changes to combat a massive deficit. Some of these changes have taken effect immediately, and the board reports that others will be phased in over the coming months, and the 2025-2026 school year. 'The changes reflect the Board's commitment to long-term financial sustainability and ensuring that resources are focused on supporting student learning and well-being,' a representative for the board said in a statement. Story continues below advertisement The cuts come following a weeks-long financial audit of the board following outrage over controversial sending practices. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The report found that the financial position of TVDSB has declined from having a surplus of $3.5 million in 2020 to 2021 to an in-year deficit of $17.32 million in 2023 to 2024. While the projected deficit for the 2024-25 school year is expected to improve slightly to $16.8 million. The board has already implemented savings measures including the staffing cuts for the 2024 2025 school year, which would reduce $16.8 million deficit to an adjusted deficit ranging from $15.9 million to $13.7 million depending on which cuts are made. 'While these decisions are difficult, they have been made with a clear focus on securing the Board's financial stability and ensuring that resources remain available where they are needed most. The Board is committed to providing support for staff who are impacted by these changes,' a representative for the board said in a statement. All this comes following highly criticized spending practices and the board's director of education stepping down in March. In March the board announced that that the board of trustees accepted Mark Fisher's resignation. Fisher has been on a leave of absence since early September 2024, which took effect just days before the school board revealed the cost of an off-site planning meeting in Toronto, totaling $38,444.92. Story continues below advertisement This includes transportation, the Blue Jays' stadium hotel, meeting spaces and food expenses. Following the controversy over the trip, Ontario's Ministry of Education announced an audit of the board, which resulted in them finding the $16.8 million deficit.
National Geographic
30-05-2025
- Politics
- National Geographic
Climbing Mount Everest may get even harder
Last month, as the 2025 climbing season began on Mount Everest , Nepal's upper house of Parliament introduced a tourism bill that includes a suite of new rules that would significantly raise the bar for who is allowed to attempt the mountain, who can guide, and how much it will cost. This year's proposal includes a mandate that Everest hopefuls must first climb a 7,000-meter peak located in Nepal, as well as requirements for all guides to be Nepalese citizens, for medical certificates confirming good health to be obtained from approved in-country facilities, new garbage fees, and insurance to cover the costly removal of dead bodies from the mountain. The Washington Post reported that the cost of removing a dead body from Mount Everest ranges anywhere between $30,000-$70,000. Announcements like this happen almost every year: The government floats new rules intended to improve safety and accountability on the peak, such as banning solo climbers and helicopters, or requiring tracking chips and feces removal. But they're rarely implemented. This is due to pushback from guiding companies, and an inability to pass the proposed legislation. The current bill is still in draft form and would still need to go through both houses of Parliament, meaning that changes are likely. (National Geographic crew finds clues to Everest's lost explorer, Sandy Irvin e ) A high-altitude expedition team crosses a crevasse on Mount Everest. Photograph by Mark Fisher, Nat Geo Image Collection The most controversial rules are the 7,000-meter peak requirement and the Nepali guide requirement. Both rules have been proposed before, or are very similar to previous proposals, but have never been passed into law. According to Lakpa Rita Sherpa, who guided on Mount Everest for two decades and has summited the peak 17 times, some of these new ideas are generally good—such as making sure climbers have some experience at altitude—but similar ones have been proposed in the past and 'they've never been passed or enforced.' He cited the difficulty of implementing these rules, which would require the government to track compliance across hundreds of companies and climbers, amidst high turnover in the Ministry of Tourism and the prevalence of bribery in the country. (The Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on alleged bribery in Nepal.) 'The reason they do it is to promote business, and to give the impression that they're trying to make mountain climbing in Nepal safer in order to attract more people to come,' said Alan Arnette, who summited Everest in 2011 and is a longtime Everest blogger, and who has been keeping track of these annual rule proposals for over a decade. 'The reason that it doesn't get implemented is because the operators don't follow the rules, and then the government doesn't enforce the rules—because everybody knows that if they enforce some of these rules that it would cause business to drop.' The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Nepal Tourism Board did not respond to requests for comment. Helicopters land and take off from the heli pad at Base Camp amidst rescues of injured climbers from Camp 2. Photograph by Max Lowe, Nat Geo Image Collecion Safety vs. tourism dollars Tourism is one of the largest industries in Nepal , and Mount Everest—the world's tallest peak—is its crown jewel. According to the most recent tourism data, there are 374 climbers from 49 countries on Mount Everest this year, which has generated $4 million in royalties from permit fees alone. (Compared to $2.48 million for 359 people in 2015). As high numbers of climbers continue to flock to the peak each year, the country reaps economic benefits but also has to reckon with the issues it brings—like on-mountain traffic jams , issues with trash and waste management , and increased fatalities . In 2023, 18 climbers died on Everest , and in 2024 eight climbers died. Some of the most common causes of death on the mountain are acute mountain sickness (AMS), falls, illness/exhaustion, disappearance, and avalanches. With an increased number of people on the mountain, support staff must ferry a higher volume of gear through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall—the location of an avalanche that killed 16 Sherpas in 2015 while they were doing just that. (Microplastics found near Everest's peak) That same year, citing safety reasons, Alpenglow Expeditions moved its Everest expeditions from the South Side of the peak in Nepal to the North Side, in Tibet, writing that the Nepalese side 'has become overcrowded with inexperienced team members and unqualified guides.' The North Side is far less crowded and far more rigid when it comes to rules, said Lakpa Rita. 'In China, you have to follow the rules no matter what,' he said. 'If you don't follow them, you won't get a permit to climb.' ExplorersWeb reported in September 2024 rules set by the China-Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) that stipulate climbers must submit a climbing resume and medical certificate, have climbed a 7,000-meter peak, be accompanied by a professional mountain guide, and use oxygen above 7,000 meters. (In 2016, Melissa Arnot Reid became the first American woman to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen. She climbed from the Tibet side.) Two climbers participate in an early morning trek in the Khumbu Icefall with Pumori Peak illuminated in the background. Photograph by Eric Daft, Nat Geo Image Collection An expedition member steps across a bridge of aluminum ladders lashed together above a crevasse in the Khumbu Icefall. Photograph by Andy Bardon, Nat Geo Image Collection 7,000-meter experience requirement One of the more controversial proposals is that climbers must have successfully summited one of the 7,000-meter peaks within Nepal before attempting Everest. This rule would not count summits of 7,000-meter peaks in other countries, such as Denali or Aconcagua, or the popular prep climb of Nepal's Ama Dablam (just shy of the requirement at 6,812 meters). While the aim is to ensure that only those with proven high-altitude experience are allowed on the mountain following several deadly seasons marked by overcrowding and underprepared clients, Arnette said that many of the accepted 7,000-meter peaks are 'remote and dangerous.' They include peaks like Annapurna IV, Api Himal, Tilicho Peak, and Baruntse. There should be leeway for popular peaks, like Denali and Aconcagua to count toward this requirement, he said. The reaction from the climbing community has been positive in regard to increasing the experience level of Everest hopefuls, and the pushback is mostly around the specifics of the rule and which peaks count. Garrett Madison of Madison Mountaineering told CNN that a 6,500-meter anywhere in the world would be a better idea. 'We are generally in favor of any rules that would increase the skills and experience of aspiring Everest climbers,' said Suze Kelly, Director of Adventure Consultants, a New Zealand-based guiding company. 'And would thus discourage people from rocking up with the approach that they can attempt the summit with no prior experience, as we see each year with many of the low-cost outfitters who are prolific in Nepal.' There have been many articles written about inexperienced climbers on the peak putting themselves or others in danger—Lakpa Rita Sherpa said he's seen people who've never put on a crampon before who come to attempt the summit. This type of climbing prerequisite has been floated a few times over the past 30 years, with the government proposing a requirement for climbers to summit a 6,000-meter peak before Everest. The rule was discarded following pushback from expedition companies and climbers. 'The reason people don't want to cut the numbers on Everest is they're worried they'll lose work,' said Lakpa Rita, who has spoken with officials in the past to find ways to address overcrowding. 'It's all about the money.' (What to know about climbing the world's tallest mountain) Medical screenings All climbers would need to submit a medical certificate from within the last month, and from a government-approved medical institution in Nepal to confirm they're in good health. This would require a person to pay for an expedition, travel to Nepal, and perhaps be told they're not in good enough health to climb. Arnette thinks that regardless of the law, it's a good idea to get a rigorous health check prior to climbing—like a cardiac stress test for climbers over 50, and a check of iron levels for female climbers.
