Marc Lucero: George Carlin Saved My Life
The Criterion, Leicester
Review by Sian Brewis Leicester Mercury
It’s standing room only in the Criterion as Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA belts out and Marc Lucero, black suit, mad grey hair and mic, appears. “I wasn’t actually born in the USA,” he admits. “But I thought it was better than a drum n bass mix of Only Fools and Horses.”
Being a 60-something Londoner, though, is only partly what this show is about. Yes, there’s some quality “it’s Lahndan innit” gags about pretentious delis with bouncers guarding the doors; a deadpan aside about gun crime keeping house prices down and the hell of ordering slacks from the back of Sunday magazines.
But there’s also a dark, dark story that unfolds about adoption and what happens when you decide to trace your family to America. Drink, drugs, even murder.
It’s not often that a comedy show stops you in your tracks. I won’t give away the punchlines, but safe to say suddenly, your conscience hits you as you’re chuckling away: should we really be laughing at this?
Luckily, Marc’s next line is pitch-perfect: “I realise I’m going to have to come up with one hell of a punchline to lighten the atmosphere I have just created.” Phew. This isn’t everyman observation territory: it’s specific, startling honest stuff which Lucero mines expertly for laughs.
Clever, thought-provoking stuff. And if it got a few people to google George Carlin afterwards, so much the better.
The Criterion, Leicester
Review by Sian Brewis Leicester Mercury
It’s standing room only in the Criterion as Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA belts out and Marc Lucero, black suit, mad grey hair and mic, appears. “I wasn’t actually born in the USA,” he admits. “But I thought it was better than a drum n bass mix of Only Fools and Horses.”
Being a 60-something Londoner, though, is only partly what this show is about. Yes, there’s some quality “it’s Lahndan innit” gags about pretentious delis with bouncers guarding the doors; a deadpan aside about gun crime keeping house prices down and the hell of ordering slacks from the back of Sunday magazines.
But there’s also a dark, dark story that unfolds about adoption and what happens when you decide to trace your family to America. Drink, drugs, even murder.
It’s not often that a comedy show stops you in your tracks. I won’t give away the punchlines, but safe to say suddenly, your conscience hits you as you’re chuckling away: should we really be laughing at this?
Luckily, Marc’s next line is pitch-perfect: “I realise I’m going to have to come up with one hell of a punchline to lighten the atmosphere I have just created.” Phew. This isn’t everyman observation territory: it’s specific, startling honest stuff which Lucero mines expertly for laughs.
Clever, thought-provoking stuff. And if it got a few people to google George Carlin afterwards, so much the better.
Marc Lucero 'George Carlin Saved My Life' Leicester Square Theatre May 2014
Jon Wainwright / The Public Reviews
Really Funny **** Four Stars
Read the full review here
Jon Wainwright / The Public Reviews
Really Funny **** Four Stars
Read the full review here
Interview with Leicester Mercury February 2014
Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Comedy-Festival-Review-Marc-Lucero-Criterion/story-20639213-detail/story.html#ixzz2taHWxJNE
Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Comedy-Festival-Review-Marc-Lucero-Criterion/story-20639213-detail/story.html#ixzz2taHWxJNE
It helps having top quality acts like yourself performing for us. Thanks again for being brilliant.
Lorna Greenwood, The Rewind Festival, August 2012
“..Proper funny bones, go & see him!”
Liz Kendall MP
"Marc Lucero was on fire, he ended his set on a complete high so that we went into the second interval still howling with laughter" Chris Sparkle, Comedy Reviewer Royal Derngate Theatre
Lorna Greenwood, The Rewind Festival, August 2012
“..Proper funny bones, go & see him!”
Liz Kendall MP
"Marc Lucero was on fire, he ended his set on a complete high so that we went into the second interval still howling with laughter" Chris Sparkle, Comedy Reviewer Royal Derngate Theatre
Steve Bennett Chortle Review 2004
A quirky and funny thinker, Lucero's brilliantly inventive gags have very little fat on them.
He's a bit of a slow burner, but aided by an inalienable skill with language, he expertly conjures up the most ridiculous of images - yet they are all based on sturdy observations, further heightening their impressive effect.
Much of his material covers his own encroaching middle age, yet it always surprises, never going quite where you expect.
Combined with some equally imaginative topical humour, this makes for a classy and original routine.
Lucero is mainly found in London's smaller clubs, but this undiscovered comic master is surely deserving of a much wider audience.
Steve Bennett Chortle Review 2006
Over 50, and not ashamed to admit it, Lucero brings a different comic perspective to a stand-up landscape dominated by twenty and thirtysomethings.
Essentially something of a London geezer, Lucero finds himself mellowed by fatherhood and late middle age, venturing tentatively into the unfamiliar and cosseted life of vegetarianism, househusbandry and touchy-feely support groups.
Yet while he's incredulous that there would be any demand for organic mung beans or the like, his spirited discussions on such topics are tempered by the suggestion that he might actually be embracing this soft new world, however reluctantly.
So what could be a standard grumpy-old-man rant against the vagaries of anything newfangled or new age is elevated into something much less expected, thanks, too, to sharp writing and an aversion to the obvious.
His is a well-defined persona, fully rounded and convincing and it's perhaps only a lack of ambition ? or the demands of fatherhood ? that mean he's not a damn sight better known.
Lucero certainly has the comic instincts and high-quality material that would shame many a more successful act. So do yourself a favour, and seek him out.
A quirky and funny thinker, Lucero's brilliantly inventive gags have very little fat on them.
He's a bit of a slow burner, but aided by an inalienable skill with language, he expertly conjures up the most ridiculous of images - yet they are all based on sturdy observations, further heightening their impressive effect.
Much of his material covers his own encroaching middle age, yet it always surprises, never going quite where you expect.
Combined with some equally imaginative topical humour, this makes for a classy and original routine.
Lucero is mainly found in London's smaller clubs, but this undiscovered comic master is surely deserving of a much wider audience.
Steve Bennett Chortle Review 2006
Over 50, and not ashamed to admit it, Lucero brings a different comic perspective to a stand-up landscape dominated by twenty and thirtysomethings.
Essentially something of a London geezer, Lucero finds himself mellowed by fatherhood and late middle age, venturing tentatively into the unfamiliar and cosseted life of vegetarianism, househusbandry and touchy-feely support groups.
Yet while he's incredulous that there would be any demand for organic mung beans or the like, his spirited discussions on such topics are tempered by the suggestion that he might actually be embracing this soft new world, however reluctantly.
So what could be a standard grumpy-old-man rant against the vagaries of anything newfangled or new age is elevated into something much less expected, thanks, too, to sharp writing and an aversion to the obvious.
His is a well-defined persona, fully rounded and convincing and it's perhaps only a lack of ambition ? or the demands of fatherhood ? that mean he's not a damn sight better known.
Lucero certainly has the comic instincts and high-quality material that would shame many a more successful act. So do yourself a favour, and seek him out.