Bruce Dessau
- Journalist and reviewer
Press clippings Page 269
TV review: Ross Noble: Freewheeling, Dave
Every comedian gets the TV series they deserve. Grumpy stand-ups get sitcoms in which they play grumpy versions of themselves. Snappy stand-ups get shiny floor comedies. And so master improvisor Ross Noble, who goes onstage not really knowing what is going to happen, gets Freewheeling, literally a comedy roadshow - he hits the tarmac on his motorbike in search of fun, with fans on Twitter pointing him in various unexpected directions.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 24th March 2015Michael Legged pulls out of gig because of UKIP
Michael Legge has pulled out of a festival booking after he discovered that a UKIP representative would also be at the same event. UKIP's invite has since been withdrawn.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 22nd March 2015Opinion: Comedy - as long as the price is right
I went to Angel Comedy Club in Islington last Thursday night because I'd heard Nick Helm was on. I didn't arrange to be on the guest list, I just turned up as a punter. And like a punter I was turned away because the gig was full.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 22nd March 2015TV preview: Inside No 9 - La Couchette, BBC2
The scenario did make me think of one of those old Peter Cushing portmanteau horror yarns where it turns out everyone is already dead and the train is heading to hell. I'm not saying if that is the case here. Though I will say that there is a hellish moment involving a shoebox that has put me off communal travelling for life.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 20th March 2015Al Murray, Pub Landlord, Queen Elizabeth Hall - review
Al Murray's ad-libs were often superior to the script - but this man in need of a manifesto was extremely funny throughout.
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard, 18th March 2015Piers Morgan in Twitter spat over Comic Relief
Piers Morgan has become involved in a heated Twitter argument with a number of major comedians this evening following his remarks about this year's Comic Relief.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 15th March 2015New Trevor & Simon project revealed
Full details have been announced of the new sci-fi project featuring comedians Trevor & Simon and former Dr Who star Sophie Aldred. It is a new fan-funded comedy sci-fi audio adventure for kids from 8 to 80, and beyond with a Kickstarter campaign starting 24th March.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 15th March 2015TV preview: Raised By Wolves, C4
You probably don't need me to tell you much about Raised By Wolves. Unless you've had your broadband connection cut off recently you will know it's the new sitcom written by Caitlin Moran and her sister Caroline recreating their unconventional childhood on a Wolverhampton council estate. And, of course, you can probably guess that it is very funny.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 13th March 2015The Funny Side of London
The history books say that alternative comedy was born at the Comedy Store in 1979. Go on, try to find a library that hasn't been closed in Cameron's Britain and look it up yourself. Even if it's true, there is case to be made that it grew up in South London's pubs. You want proof? Then follow this cut-out-and-keep history of London comedy on the funnier side of the Thames.
Bruce Dessau, Deserter, 12th March 2015Interview: Ross Noble
A favourite at the Edinburgh Fringe and a vigilant stand-up gigger, Ross Noble has previously admitted to planning entire shows around "about four words on a scrap of paper." It's hardly surprising then, that his foray into television takes a similarly unstructured form. He merges the conventions of spontaneous comedy with the massive network for randomness that social media has to offer. Noble's broadcasting brainchild is Freewheeling; "It's a show that doesn't have a format, we make it up as we go along," he explains.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 11th March 2015