Bruce Dessau
- Journalist and reviewer
Press clippings Page 284
Jayde Adams wins Funny Women Awards final
Jayde Adams has won this year's Funny Women Awards Final at the Leicester Square Theatre. Second place went to Aine Gallagher and third place went to Lauren Pattison.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 22nd September 2014Interview: the stars of new sitcom Scrotal Recall
Channel 4's new sitcom Scrotal Recall stars Johnny Flynn as Dylan Witter, who is told that he has chlamydia and has to track down his previous sexual partners. It is written by Tom Edge of YouTube superstars The Midnight Beast and is, erm, transmitted from October 2. Dylan's mates Evie and Luke are played by Antonia Thomas and Daniel Ings. In this interview they talk about the perils of corpsing, the atmosphere on set plus the baking of rock'n'roll pies.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 20th September 2014New interview: Doc Brown
This interview is the first in a series which I've dubbed RAQS. Rather than frequently asked questions these are rarely asked questions. The performer might choose not to answer some, but the answers they do provide are pretty revealing and also entertaining. As is very much the case here.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 19th September 2014New interview: ventriloquist Paul Zerdin
Paul Zerdin is one of the UK's top ventriloquists. He has entertained the troops, sold out at the Edinburgh Festival and Las Vegas and appeared on the Royal Variety Performance.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 11th September 2014Opinion: Janey Godley on Swearing
Does my swearing sound worse because I am a working class Scottish woman? If I was an Oxbridge graduate swearing onstage would it be seen as 'urban and gritty' like a hipster getting angry at a flat tyre but in my accent does it sound really harsh and filthy and all you hear is a slovenly washer woman taking us back years with her filthy language?
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 10th September 2014New comedy magazine Stand & Deliver launches
New comedy magazine Stand & Deliver has just been launched. Issue 1 costs £5 plus postage and features Tony Law on the cover. It also features quite a lot of Tony Law inside. An interview with him, some of his doodles and a children's story written by Law.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 6th September 2014Eddie Izzard joins Stand-Up for Labour line-up
Eddie Izzard headlines a fundraiser for the Labour Party on September 21 at Manchester Opera House. The full bill for Stand Up With Labour has now been confirmed. Izzard is to be joined by Phill Jupitus, Ian Stone, Sara Pascoe and host Stephen K Amos. All proceeds from the event will go to the Labour Party.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 1st September 2014Opinion: why is comedy hooked on misery?
Comedy loves misery. That's the theory. That's why grumpy Tony Hancock was so funny. That's why Les Dawson made a hit out of rarely cracking a smile. And more recently Jack Dee's perma-scowl has been part of the secret of his success.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 27th August 2014TV preview: Big School
David Walliams, Catherine Tate, Frances De La Tour, Joanna Scanlan, Philip Glenister and that bloke form the BT adverts. You can't fault the cast of Big School, which returns for a second run. The challenge is making something mainstream enought for primetime BBC One but still interesting enough so that the talented performers don't sleepwalk through it.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 27th August 2014Opinon: How important are funny faces in comedy?
Alan Davies recently suggested comedians can be divided into two groups, golfers and self-harmers. I think you can currently divide them into the serious face brigade and the comic face brigade.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 26th August 2014