Marcel Lucont – Gallic Symbol & Alexis Dubus – Cars & Girls Edinburgh Previews

With a deadpan arrogance and attired in a dark suit and polo neck, Marcel Lucont does little to dispel the stereotypes of the French, thoroughly enjoying them all with a dismissive flick of a hand and a glass of red held haughtily. This was well structured and sharply written, mixing music with poetry and banter, including a compelling section in which the character Frenchman (albeit with such a good accent it’s easy to forget English isn’t his second language) attempts to tell ‘English jokes’, subverting them beautifully. Filthy, but making you enjoy his Gallic Charm despite it.

Of course Marcel Lucont is actually Alexis Dubus from Kent, and the second half of this performance was his admittedly less polished storytelling show, as himself. Mixing a fantastical tale about a visit to the Burning Man Festival in California, along with hitchhiking to Morocco with a stunning girl at 19, and meeting another beautiful lady at an Ecuadorian festival – although the title of the show is ‘Cars & Girls’, there were times when it came over more as boasting than straight storytelling. Perhaps when the structure is tightened the characters of the ladies involved will become a little more developed, as his male characters are. They are fabulous stories that at times had me on the edge of my seat, and with such a seasoned performer it would be a shame not to do them full credit.

Caroline of Brunswick, 16 July 2012

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