Bruce Dessau
- Journalist and reviewer
Press clippings Page 231
Fringe preview: Tony Law
Tony Law was always a funny comedian. But it was when he started messing with his facial hair that things really took off. It was in 2012 when he was rocking his pre-hipster 1908 arctic explorer facial hair that he was nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Award for the freewheeling Maximum Nonsense.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 24th June 2016How do you write jokes about a sad story?
It's Pete Sinclair that I feel sorry for. Among others of course. He is one of the writers of C4's Power Monkeys and as if it wasn't hard enough already to write a whole sitcom episode in a day, he now has to write funny jokes about a situation that I suspect he doesn't find very funny.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 24th June 2016Fringe preview: James Acaster
I think this is what they call a "no brainer".
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 23rd June 2016BBC appoints new entertainment commissioning controller
Kate Phillips has been appointed Controller, Entertainment Commissioning. The role replaces Mark Linsey, who is now Director of BBC Studios.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 23rd June 2016Fringe preview: Spencer Jones
I will be honest. The first time I saw Spencer Jones I didn't get it. He was in the New Act of the Year final and I thought he must be a mate of the promoter or just someone who had wandered in from the pub next door, pausing only to put on a pair of stupid white tights. The second time I saw him it was at a Malcolm Hardee tribute gig. He did pretty much the same slapstickish, childlike set, mucking around with props, hardly saying a word, but it suddenly made sense. He really is a gifted clown with genuine funny bones. And since then other people have got it too. Jones was one of the hits of 2015's Fringe.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 22nd June 2016TV review: Taskmaster, Dave
It is no surprise that comedians are ruthlessly competitive. What I didn't realise until Taskmaster came along was how cunning and crafty they can be when he comes to getting one over on their stand-up rivals.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 21st June 2016Fringe preview: Adam Hess
I think I laughed more when I was at the Edinburgh show by Adam Hess than at any show last summer. I have to qualify that, however, by saying that I couldn't remember many of the actual jokes afterwards, but that was because they flew around the room at such a fast and furious pace that I was still chuckling at one punchline when the next one hit me.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 21st June 2016David Baddiel wins new book award
David Baddiel is one of the winners of the inaugural Laugh Out Loud Awards, known as "The Lollies". These awards were created by Scholastic, the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books, to celebrate the funniest children's books. The full results have just been announced and Baddiel and illustrator Jim Field won Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 9-13 year olds for their book The Parent Agency.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 21st June 2016West End transfer for David Baddiel's show
David Baddiel's brutally honest, brutally funny show My Family: Not The Sitcom is to transfer to the West End following a successful sell-out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 20th June 2016Fringe preview: Sarah Callaghan
There was a real buzz around young, upcoming London comic Sarah Callaghan in Edinburgh last summer.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 20th June 2016