Not a Metrosexual but a Sexual Metro is the charming Marcel Lucont, (aka Alexis Dubus) who brings some Gallic wit as France’s supreme misanthropist. On at the Tuxedo Cat, Synagogue Place in Adelaide till the 21st March 2009 you can only warm to Monsieur Marcel’s subtle satire on the shortcomings of humanity…
1. What inspired you to become an performer, writer and comedian?
I am a flâneur – I stroll, write, observe… If I can make money from entertainment I will do it in any way possible. In fact sometimes I simply do it for a place to stay, or to capture the heart of a woman. My inspiration is a performer’s freedom to do as he wants.
2. What’s your show about and what should the public expect from your show at the 2009 Adelaide Fringe?
Marcel Lucont: Sexual Metro is about class, wit, flair, charm. Expect love advice, philosophy and good wine.
3. What was the last Fringe or Festival you performed at and what was it like?
The Edinburgh Fringe 2008 – I swept the women and the critics off their feet, sometimes both at the same time.
4. What are your funniest and worst experiences performing in front of an audience?
The first time I have ever experienced a “stage death” was, ironically, at the funeral of my father. I made a play-on-words joke about “la petite morte” (a French way to say ‘orgasm’) which did not amuse his third wife, in whose congress he died. His widow was even more furious. However, both were easily placated, and surprisingly supple for their age.
5. What’s the best and worst advice you have ever been given? And did you follow it?
As a child I was given a lot of advice about women by my father. And he should know – he had many, many wives over the years.
The worst advice I have heard was to ‘not give up the day job’ by a drunken man who could barely speak in East London. I have never even had a day job and, I imagine, neither had he.
6. What are you most proud of and what dreams or goals would you like to fulfill?
Two sisters in the same 24-hour period. My goal? Well, they have a third one…
7. Which three famous people would you invite to dinner and why? And what culinary dish would you prepare?
The chefs Ferran Adria & Gordon Ramsay, and a notoriously picky restaurant critic, perhaps A A Gill. I would sit back, enjoy the food THEY have prepared, and wait for the chaos to ensue.
8. What is the best book or books you have read and why?
Proust – A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu. A wonderful book that tells us everything we need to know about life. Written by a man who rarely left his bed.
9. Tell us 5 interesting and unknown facts about yourself?
1. I invented the crêpe. This is unknown because it is untrue.
2. I once pissed in a German man’s drink while onstage. He was actually into that kind of thing, so everyone was a winner that night.
3. I am a nihilist – I don’t believe anything really has a purpose. This way I am rarely disappointed.
4. I am a big fan of the cat as a domestic pet. They can be as rude and nonchalant as they like to you but they know they will always be fed and nurtured. Such arrogance towards the supposed rulers of the planet is to be admired.
5. I really like Australian women – they say what they mean, will support you in a fight and have a good sense of humour. This is not a fact about me, so much as an advertisement…
10. If you could change one thing about the world what would it be?
For people to stop worrying about their own self-importance. We are chimps that got lucky, admit it. In terms of the universe we are gone in the blink of an eye. Enjoy your life, live by your own rules, and don’t be a dick.
