Eric Lampaert: Alien of Extraordinary Ability

• Rowena McIntosh
• 23 August 2016

This article is from 2016.

credit: John Griffiths

A post-Brexit affair from a dotty and positive comic

In a timely show, French-English comedian Eric Lampaert delves into one of the Brexit campaign's thornier key issues: immigration. Born in France, raised in England and now living in the US with his American wife, he speaks from a position of experience. A self-confessed 'bit of a hippy', he champions a positive, inclusive message that never borders on preachy.

Lampaert is an amiable host with a style that flits between laid-back and hyperactive. He dots between topics, touching on mental health and educating us in astrophysics with occasional risky material along the way. There are funny anecdotes about misunderstanding foreign customs and a method for remembering the French emergency number that you won't forget in a hurry. His stand-up is interspersed with videos of him being interviewed for his American green card by Mulder and Scully (actually a couple of Fringe comic buddies), and he's happy to share the funny lines with them as he picks apart some ridiculous questions put to those wanting to enter the country. References to The Silence of the Lambs are sprinkled throughout, designed to prepare you for the closing routine. Unfortunately, tonight's audience isn't overly familiar with the film and are left nonplussed at the references and thoroughly baffled by the closer.

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, until 28 Aug, 5.30pm, free.