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Beyond a Joke

Inside the Dark World of Stand-up Comedy

By: Bruce Dessau

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Paperback | 15 August 2012 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
304 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
19.9 x 13.3 x 2.3

Paperback

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Comedians are not normal. If they were normal they wouldn't want to go onstage and make thousands of strangers laugh every night. Beyond a Joke is the story of lives lived to excess: of alcohol, drugs, sex... and running marathons.

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.

Industry 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 *

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You Can Find This Book In

Fiction Modern & Contemporary Fiction Non-Fiction Society & Culture Cultural Studies Popular Culture Arts & Entertainment Dance & Other Performing Arts Other Performing Arts Comedy & Humour

Introduction	p. vii
The Crying Clown	p. 1
Booze, Broads and the Painted Penis	p. 22
He Didn't Know Whether to Block Her Passage or Toss Himself Off	p. 40
Naked Without a Fan	p. 70
The TV Times	p. 98
From Cocksucker to Cook	p. 133
Turned Out Nice Again? From T'rific to Not Feeling So Well	p. 174
Anything You Can Do … The Americans Can Do Madder	p. 203
No Alternative - You Can't See the Join	p. 221
Rock and Roll	p. 234
Time for Bed …	p. 254
List of Illustrations	p. 261
Bibliography	p. 263
Index	p. 269
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Beyond a Joke

Inside the Dark World of Stand-up Comedy

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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