Beyond a Joke

Sep 21, 2024 7:02 PM

Author:Bruce Dessau

Beyond a Joke

Beyond a Joke is a celebration of comedy - one of the modern world's most dominant and compelling art forms - but it is also the story of comedy's dark side, homing in on the scandals that have surrounded some of light entertainment's biggest stars, and telling it as it is, featuring insight from one who was there at the time.

While Beyond a Joke explores the extremes of this world it also addresses another question. Are comedians naturally dysfunctional, or does the stress and pressure of the job make them dysfunctional? Ruby Wax once told the author that she had builders in her house who were just as emotionally unstable as most stand-up comedians she had worked with. But they don't want to go on stage and plead with an audience to love them.

Bruce Dessau is the only person who could write this book. From Russell Brand slashing his chest onstage to Jo Brand trashing a friend's car on the motorway, he has heard it all. Bruce Dessau knows where the bodies are buried.

Reviews

An intriguing history of humour's bad boys claims that almost every great comedian is a damaged soul ... Delightful nuggets for the new wave of comedy enthusiasts

—— Sunday Times

Dessau shows us that comedians tend to be weird, or compulsive, or obsessive; they veer easily towards depression; and they mostly find themselves, at least for a period, desperately out of fashion. Beyond this, he doesn't overanalyse. He simply lines them up, one after the other, and recounts their strange lives

—— Evening Standard

Many intriguing tales of dark and outrageous dysfunction

—— ShortList

Entertaining insight and audacity - Dessau has been reviewing comedy for more than 30 years, and knows his stuff ... A fascinating look at the dark side of stand-up

—— Time Out, 4 stars

Its sporadic vulgarity leavened by wit and insight, the book mirrors the mood of a late-night gig.

—— Independent

I can see a marked improvement in my posture and tone.

—— Susan D'Arcy, Sunday Times Style

A loving and detailed biog

—— Mojo

Cute on the machinations of the industry and internal band politics

—— The Times, Book of the Week

Brilliant... forensically put together

—— Gordon Smart , XFM

The real pleasure of his beguiling, meandering narrative is not the destination but the rococo scenery en route. ****

—— Francis Wheen , Mail on Sunday

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