Bruce Dessau
- Journalist and reviewer
Press clippings Page 213
TV review: Walliams & Friend with Miranda Richardson
I don't know how much this week's guest Miranda Richardson cost but I did wonder how available she was as she doesn't do a great deal in this episode.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 23rd December 2016Scott Gibson, comedy review
This natural narrator effortlessly finds humour in the horror, writes Bruce Dessau.
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard, 22nd December 2016Michelle Wolf, comedy review
Deceptively smart observations on gender and politics.
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard, 21st December 2016Bruce Dessau's top comedy gigs for 2016
Having been spoilt for choice when it came to picking TV highlights the live highlights felt thinner on the ground this year. The Edinburgh Fringe featured a lot of very good shows but few really great ones. Maybe comedians were a little knocked sideways by the Brexit vote. but two did respond well - see below. Elsewhere there were a few excellent big gigs and small gigs and it was nice to see some West End runs rather than bank raid arena one-offs. These shows are listed in absolutely no particular order.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 21st December 2016Interview: Rarely Asked Questions - Viv Groskop
I don't really know journalist Viv Groskop but I do know her writing. It is sharp, funny and well-observed.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 19th December 2016Interview: Rarely Asked Questions - Scott Gibson
Scott Gibson was a very popular winner of the lastminute.com Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer Prize this year. And not just because he is Scottish. Gibson is one of those annoyingly blessed people who can stand onstage and tell a gripping, compelling, funny story about themself as if they are chatting away to mates in the pub. Yet there is depth to his show Life After Death too. It's about mortality, masculinity and much more. We won't give away too much except to say that it is the tale of Gibson going through a major life-altering event.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 16th December 2016Another London venue disappears - The Wibbley Wobbley
The Wibbley Wobbley boat, which was run as a comedy venue on the Thames by the legendary Malcolm Hardee, has been towed away from its moorings in Rotherhithe's Greenland Dock.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 11th December 2016Live review: Fleabag
This was interesting. I've never been to a performance in a theatre that felt so much like a cross between a rock gig by your favourite band and a victory lap of honour. Having gathered various stage prizes Phoebe Waller-Bridge's play was then adapted for BBC3 and will no doubt go on to collect TV awards by the bucketload in the next few months.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 9th December 2016TV Review: David Walliams & Friend
It would be easy to mock the easy game show spoofs and the repetitive one-note Middle Class Jeremy Kyle gag but there is actually a lot to like here.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 9th December 2016Sofie Hagen, comedy review
Sofie Hagen's new show is deeper than her debut but still big on infectious laughs.
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard, 8th December 2016