a well-respected coach and a man who lived for the sport throughout his whole life
but also as a well-respected member of the coaching community in Germany
Rolf Brack's heart stopped beating during surgery
with the news coming as a huge shock for German sport and the world of handball
Brack started playing handball at a young age
earning rave reviews for his tactics while always playing the underdog card
He promoted four teams throughout his career in the German Bundesliga
VfL Pfullingen and HBW Balingen-Weilstetten
while also serving as the Switzerland men's national team coach between 2013 and 2016
Brack was also one of the most innovative coaches in German handball
being one of the first coaches to use the seven-on-six attacking option and always delivering surprises to opponents
while mentoring plenty of other coaches whom he encouraged to take their exams and become licensed coaches
His last stints as a head coach were at three German clubs - Frisch Auf Göppingen
with Rimpar Wolves being the last side he coached in 2021
Brack was also a senior academic councillor at the University of Stuttgart and served on the German Handball Federation's Federal Teaching Commission
"Science works under completely different conditions
much more complex!" was Brack's mantra throughout his handball life
which left an essential mark on German handball
Rolf Brack is survived by his wife Eva and his two children Daniel and Benjamin
who both follow in their father's footsteps and are also coaches
On behalf of the IHF and the global handball family
IHF President Dr Hassan Moustafa would like to offer his deepest and sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Rolf Brack and everyone who knew and worked with him
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either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter
or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources
Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content
A 30-year-old German man with autism faces attempted murder charges after authorities said he convinced dozens of women to run potentially fatal electric shocks through their bare feet and broadcast it over Skype for his pleasure, Der Spiegel reported
German authorities said he posted advertisements on eBay purporting to be a research scientist studying the human sexual response to electrical stimulation
as much as 1,500 euros to take part in an experiment he was running
His last name has not been released because of the sexual nature of the crimes he is accused of
The women who passed a screening exercise were given instructions to assemble an impromptu device out of spoons and bare electrical cords
had the women position their feet at the center of their camera and plug the cords into an electrical outlet
A shock of that magnitude is sufficient to kill a human being
and many of the victims were left with burns on their extremities
lost consciousness and had to be taken to the hospital after participating in the experiment four times
she spoke to police about why she had shocked herself and they began investigating the faux professor
None of the women ever received the payment they were promised
they discovered more than 100 videos of women electrocuting their feet
Investigators began tracking down the victims and gathering statements
including from some who shocked themselves multiple times
sent into convulsions and experiencing heart irregularities after they shocked themselves
Prosecutors argued that David performed his experiments for sexual gratification
claiming that he had a dual fetish for feet and for seeing women in pain
and that the scheme was a way for him to gratify both fetishes at the same time
They also claimed that he would later sell the videos to other fetishists on the dark web
a diagnosis they say is a mitigating factor in their client's behavior
They have not attempted to argue that he did not perform the accused crimes
but rather that the crimes were not done with malicious intent
Spiegel stated that the man's actions simply were "his attempt to communicate with the environment."
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and Graeme Somerville on the set of The Lehman Trilogy at the Bluma Appel Theatre in November.DAHLIA KATZ/Canadian Stage
a Tony Award-winning history play now on at Canadian Stage in Toronto
explores a century and a half of American capitalism through the lens of Lehman Brothers
was no doubt motivated by that American global financial services firm’s world-unsettling bankruptcy in 2008
that chapter number 11 is completely left out
It’s the booms and busts and changes in business direction that came long before the subprime mortgage crisis that interest Massini
The play begins with the original Lehmans – a trio of Jewish brothers who immigrated from Rimpar
to the United States in the 1840s and settled in Montgomery
the moodier middle child dubbed “the arm,” and Mayer
the youngest and most charming dubbed “the potato,” are played in this Canadian premiere astutely directed by Philip Akin by Ben Carlson
This trio of male actors is known from their robust work with the three S’s of Ontario – the Stratford Festival
the Shaw Festival and Soulpepper – and therefore know well how to make their way through the wordiest of classical texts
a very wordy show penned in a contemporary storytelling mode
Pettle and Somerville take turns narrating
The first act sees the original three Lehman Brothers evolve their business from selling actual things out of a store to becoming cotton brokers – buying from southern plantations and selling to northern manufacturers at a profit
and Ben Carlson on the set of The Lehman Trilogy at the Bluma Appel Theatre in November.DAHLIA KATZ/Canadian Stage
By the end of this initial part of the play
their business has been mostly blown up as the American Civil War eliminates the evil system of slavery that underlay it
Lehman Brothers (and its brother partners) fully embrace a new identity as a bank – and eventually another generation of Lehmans take it over as it becomes a major player on the newfound New York Stock Exchange
(Carlson is particularly enjoyable in this chunk as Philip Lehman – a preternatural negotiator who sees potential in the railway that his elders can’t)
The third act is a bit of a headscratcher from a dramatic point of view
It doesn’t jump ahead as expected but leans into the great stock market crash – and then scurries ahead past the Second World War and into the postwar period in a scattershot way
whose final member Bobby (Pettle) left the company in 1969
kind of peters out – and the tale of its turns toward the new dubious types of trading that brought it down is ultimately only touched upon
obvious statement is part of the appeal of The Lehman Trilogy
Canadian Stage’s new season to feature hit Broadway plays The Lehman Trilogy and The Inheritance
British theatregoers have long enjoyed big British plays that tackle the subject of American capitalism from a more overtly skeptical or satirical angle – shows like Lucy Prebble’s Enron
or Lucy Kirkwood’s Chimerica – which have flopped or been ignored in the United States
The Lehman Trilogy perhaps had a better reception on Broadway because of Massini’s more aloof European take on America – though it appeared in New York
in a British-originated translation of Massini’s play by Mirella Cheeseman
which was shortened and adapted by National Theatre of Great Britain associate director Ben Power
The lack of explicit finger-pointing has been criticized in some corners – notably due to a perceived downplaying of the central role slavery played in the building of Lehman Brothers
I felt the opposite – that Massini avoids any nostalgic thesis that sees America has moved from making things to moving money around
or from value creation to value extraction
and instead suggests that amorality was embedded in its finance industry all along
have anything explicit to say about the genocide of Indigenous peoples
has included a striking element in her set that won’t let you forget it or slavery – a stage on top of the St Lawrence Centre for the Arts stage that appears to be supported by bodies; the audience sees only the soles of feet sticking out
In terms of sets that have surprises tucked up their sleeves
Koo is as close as Canada has to Es Devlin
whose striking rotating box set designed for the Broadway production of The Lehman Brothers was a big part of its success
Koo has created a tower of stacked brown wooden trunks that the actors climb up and down through the show with subtle movement direction by Alexis Milligan
at least two thirds of this trilogy is riveting in this Canadian premiere
especially in this economy; let’s not get greedy
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Kelly Nestruck is the television critic for The Globe and Mail
In 2018, Nestruck broke one of Canada’s major #MeToo stories - reporting on four actresses who launched civil suits against a founder of a Toronto theatre company
Nestruck worked in arts and entertainment journalism at The Guardian (in London
He grew up shuttling back and forth between Montreal and Winnipeg - both great cities for arts and culture
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the top brokerage firm Lehman Brothers collapsed
It was the largest bankruptcy filing America had ever seen
and sparked the greatest financial devastation since the Great Depression
Adapted from Stefano Massini's play, in this production for the National Theatre
Ben Power and director Sam Mendes tell the story of the men behind the world-famous corporation
from the moment the three brothers from Rimpar
Emanuel (Ben Miles) and Mayer (Adam Godley) Lehman - made the crossing to America in the mid-1840s
Divided into three acts of almost an hour each
it covers the history of this family over almost two centuries
The scope of the play is quite unbelievable
with the dialogue set to the soundtrack of Candida Caldicot's beautiful piano
rhythmic like a divine clock compelling time onwards
Tragic, funny and full of the wit and rhythm of poetry, The Lehman Trilogy is narrated by the Lehman trio in the third person
as it keeps the audience at a remove that doesn't exist in dramatic realism
But the narration elevates the storytelling to something like biblical authority and allows the characters to express their ambitions
fears and motivations with clarity and great humour
giant glass box split into what looks like the meeting rooms of a New York office
a screen conjures up the backdrops to this cross-generational tale
from the plantations of Alabama to the skyline of New York
Mendes' play is one of shifting parts and constant movement
The accents change from German to New York as the immigrant brothers are overtaken by a new generation; the sign of the Lehman Brothers shop constantly evolves
each one marked in pen like a memory on the glass walls of the set; the actors use cardboard file boxes to build platforms and staircases as the giant set revolves and the years pass
They play three generations of Lehman men as well as all the supporting roles
switching fearlessly from playing young men to old
and the different characters are established through unique and playful refrains
repeated over and over like the chorus of a Greek tragedy
but the actors attack a dense script with such energy
humour and classical mastery that the drama canters weightlessly on through 174 years
This is one of those occasions when the idea of a different cast taking on the mantle is heartbreaking
design and direction in this production is so superb that it must be witnessed
The Lehman Trilogy is at the Piccadilly Theatre until 31st August
The Lehman Trilogy tickets are available now
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one of the trio of brothers who founded the brokerage house that bore their name
From a general store that stood across the square from the slave market in pre-Civil War Montgomery
Lehman Brothers evolved into one of Wall Street’s largest and most prestigious investment banks.