At BBC Comedy Presents

Edinburgh 2010

More Eric Lampaert videos

French-born, Belgian-raised Eric Lampaert was a finalist in the Amused Moose Laugh Off competition 2008.

Eric Lampaert: Where's Eric?
Live Review

It's a bit of a push awarding three stars to Eric Lampaert, given that his show wings it. To be fair the back story accounts for some it; it is a loose recollection if the nation-hopping that he has done between after leaving his native France at a young age and settling in the UK. And there was a lot of hopping: 29 homes across seven countries and three continents.

The preamble is delivered from behind the curtain, Lampaert commenting in his audience as they file in before he reveals hid whereabouts by sticking his finger out of a hole.

The show itself is flighty and playful and it is clear that Lampaert is defined by constant change. This inherently erratic nature comes out in his use of duologues, his forgetfulness at where he has reached in the narrative and his appetite to wander to down any alley that seems appealing.

While his wide-eyed curiosity and Pan-like childishness can border in the trying, the majority of the show is carried off with engaging charm. Quick and silly asides such as pronouncing Ramadan as if it were a line in a song from The Muppets and punning on hamlet/omelette are irresistibly stupid.

Even as a fellow Buffy fan I might have to question, however, the wisdom of extending the routine about what to do if a vampire is Jewish or Muslim. Not a bad idea in itself but one that could have been done with more conviction in terms really nailing the permutations.

There is only minimal time for the globe-trotting element of the narrative and the experiences the 24-year-old had have been so lightly brushed over that they remain intact for proper exploration in future shows. His time in Dubai, for example, descends into a vaudevillian routine about sand.

Elsewhere observations on his dad's career as a jockey are more fulfilling, providing great lines about childhood and being picked up from school on a horse.

A split audience last night in Wycombe, but I enjoyed his ramblings. A bit more experience under the belt and he'll be after a slice of the Ross Noble pie.

Paul Roff, November 2010

We'll be seeing a lot more of Eric Lampaert.Betcha!

Steve Flashman, October 2010