Prague Fringe 2013
Marcel Lucont: Gallic Symbol
Marcel Lucont
Genre: Character Stand up
Venue: Malostranska Beseda
Festival: Prague Fringe
Low Down
Review
Apart from learning that Marcel Lucont had won Best Comedy Show at the Edinburgh festival last year I really knew nothing about him on entering the theatre. I was immediately told by friends and colleagues that he had been host of that afternoon’s smorgasbord of fringe show ‘live promotions’ and that he was ‘fantastic’, ‘brilliant’ and ‘hilarious’.
It took approximately 5 seconds for him to have the audience in peals of laughter and the laughter continued for the entire hour. I have subsequently learnt that he has worked with such talents as Chris Morris, Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade. This shows in his surreal, acerbic wit which never failed to hit home. Alexis’s humour in this festival is character driven. He does not depend on the character alone for the laughs however. He is one hell of a good ‘joke’ writer. There are a good number of ‘bits’ in the show which instantly raise him above the average stand up. A misogynistic poet/womanizer with a funny French accent might seem like a cliche until Alexis opens his mouth and instantly reveals himself to be a fabulously astute comedian whose ‘French man’ act is probably only one small weapon in what I don’t doubt is a huge arsenal of genuinely humorous routines.
His ‘sex’ poetry is a highlight during the hour, wherein he asks the audience to choose from a list of poems he might read for them. Although we were all confident that any one of the poems would have been worth listening to, the choices were wonderfully predictable and nicely rewarded. Not only does Marcel recite poetry but he also ‘honors’ us with a couple of his own songs.
The true delight of the show is Alexis’ relaxed hauteur. Whether feigned or not, it is such an endearing and admirable quality in a profession as prickly as stand up. His pointed and clubby response to a few late comers was evidence enough that this man can handle improvisation as boldly as he can his well honed pieces.
To see him after the performance at the bar, out of character and speaking to some enthusiastic audience members was pleasantly discombobulating. All of a sudden he had transformed from a self important, chauvinistic Marcel Ducont into the delightfully shy, humble and incredibly talented comedian/actor Alexis Dubus.
Don’t worry too much if you do not or did not have the time to catch this show, it will not be long before Mr Dubus is whisked away to T.V. Land and is producing series after series of wonderfully rye comic masterpieces for us to download and watch ad nauseum.
That said, try not to miss it!
