Joker journalist He begins on stage with the first solo in the autobiographical scene. A very subtle presentation, in which we would have appreciated if Castello-Lopes had been scratched up a bit.
The first joke – which upset Jews and Portuguese alike – was a bit borderline. It's limited, but David Castillo Lopez can handle it. Understand that he is Jewish and of Portuguese descent. He takes advantage of the famous “immunity totem” and announces it to the audience sarcastically on stage. After this first joke, images are projected onto the screen at the back of the stage, in which the comedic journalist, whose angelic face certainly fits all the parodies, portrays himself as a Portuguese conqueror. From his early days, David Castillo Lopez liked not to take himself too seriously. This show is the culmination of this self-deprecating work. A nativeIt will be a show that tells the truth, the truth of its creator and performer, David Castillo Lopez, and which will answer some of the existential questions we ask ourselves. Because the man is passionate about generalization. Questions of all kinds – from the most difficult to the most stupid – do not frighten him.
At first, we're a little surprised when we see this cheerful fellow's performance. The man is a journalist by profession. He contributed significantly to the launch of the daily video service the worldwritten to Gravy He was a columnist on numerous television and radio programs. David Castillo Lopez has gained recognition from the general public with his journalistic style that is half humorous and half educational. interesting, broadcast every week in 28 Minutes magazine, and broadcast on Arte channel. Recently, the doors of the highly prestigious morning show France Inter were opened for the journalist, to present his idea on the radio: one question, one answer, with a bit of an offbeat accent and some funny jokes. If his works have always been mildly funny — each of his subjects mixing self-deprecation with a very second-rate sense of humor, close to the memes we see passed around on the Internet — he had to take a risk.
Same thing, but on stage
On stage, the system is the same as on the records that made him famous: a few minutes of speaking and between each video clips are shown. The tone adopted on stage, halfway between his Arte and TedX playing, was intended to be a bit professorial. The perfect tone to bring about the transformation is its branding. Between what he says (or admits) and the way he says it, there is a huge gap that always makes one laugh. Thus, Castillo Lopez gently recalls many embarrassing events in his life, for example when he lost the thread in the middle of an interview with François Hollande and started thinking about something else. One or two clips of said interview are not broadcast on stage. The extract works wonders – Castillo Lopez is full of it.
To illustrate his real fake pantomime, the journalist puts himself in a video. Between two good tales told by Castillo Lopez is a video of Castillo Lopez as an internet meme. As when he invokes the intellectual concept of the “positional good” – a sociological concept taken from the theses of Thorstein Veblen: These are the things we buy to show others that we have money, or power, or both – which he broadcasts, right after his homemade “hit”: ” “I have money”.
Throughout this short autobiographical saga, the journalist looks back a little at his background: father a photographer, studying at Berkeley (at the time, he had a business card specially printed to show he had studied at the prestigious university), and a life full of challenges. good boy. We laugh happily with the comedic journalist at his jokes about himself. He acknowledges Bill Mill, in this pedagogical, slightly exaggerated tone, that we know him to pronounce the “a” with a rich accent, that he's neither handsome nor ugly, and that he handed out expired business cards for years to show everyone that he actually studied at Berkeley.
Well behaved boy
If the show is funny, Castillo Lopez owes it to his great talent for questioning our conventions. He himself admits to asking stupid questions everywhere, all the time (Is the supermarket bottle farmer really a cow farmer?). He is a great specialist in promotion, he deciphers while at the same time trusting in silly little habits that concern everyone: the desire to shine in front of the girls – which does not always work – buying expensive clothes, trying to show off… Everyone has been there, everyone recognizes… each other.
The downside is that David Castillo Lopez, who assumes and claims this status as a good guy and not really a revolutionary, doesn't scratch the surface much at the end. You have to be a little paranoid to get on stage and tell your life story. Only the best artists assume and claim this paranoia. We would have liked the journalist to do the same and show more of his eccentricities. What he admits on stage – which often entertains us – is actually a bit shameful. But not much. For example, when he says his body is average, the journalist is lying a little. David Castillo Lopez is a very handsome man. His jokes are a little silly, but not much. In the end, all laughter is perfectly acceptable. Like our man. And it is this last restriction imposed on a well-bred boy – perhaps the difference between a journalist and an actor – that prevents him from having the ultimate laugh. Which comes from the viscera.
If the show is disappointing in some ways, it is no less successful. What saved him was the tremendous work done by David Castillo Lopez before taking to the stage. Aside from the funny smiling scenes, the journalist paid great attention to reconstructing each of the scenes he talks about. As a true video professional, everything is designed to be explained, with a level of detail worthy of respect. When he begins miming a scene in which Emmanuel Macron visits a parking lot in a rural town, the Joker goes to the same abandoned parking lot. The same shots of the President of the Republic, the same facial expressions down to the millimeter. However, he is alone and in a deserted place. Silly and excellent. The sequence is a reflection of its presentation. This humorist is smiling and very diligent. At David Castillo Lopez, perfection is authentic.
A nativePresentation by David Castillo Lopez. On tour around France. November 1 at Ecrin du Tallant, November 3 at Neptune Palace in Toulon, November 10 at Folies Bergère in Paris, November 21 at the House of Culture in Clermont-Ferrand and November 30 at Comet / Le Passana in Saint-Etienne. Information and reservations.
