Beyond a Joke: Inside the Dark Minds of Stand-Up Comedians

by Bruce Dessau

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.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2011

Reviews

[Zoe Obstkuchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, it starts right at the beginning of stand-up and works its way to modern day, giving us insights into the struggles faced by so many stand-up comedians. I did think there were a few guys missing, only mention in passing of Bill Hicks, but it kept me interested from start to finish

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The blurb promises an examination of the dark side of the comedy world from someone who was there at the time. It isn’t what I expected, I thought it would be similar to Robin Ince’s book ‘I’m a Joke and So Are You: Reflections on Humour and Humanity’ which looks at the psychology behind what draws comedians to the job. For example I thought it might examine why there are a significant number of alcoholic comedians, Is there something about the job that attracts people already pre-disposed to alcoholism? Is it due to often performing in venues that serve alcohol? Or is it a product of endless touring coupled with boredom and loneliness? Instead the book lists the life stories of mainly dead comedians without any deeper opinion or analysis and very few anecdotes from the author so it feels like an amalgamation of biographies, auto-biographies and Wikipedia pages. There is very little new information in the book if you’ve read any of the books that it references and paraphrases. The author clearly has access to a lot of comedians, I’d have liked to have read interviews with them to discuss these issues.

The book mainly focuses on the 1800’s until the 1980’s but despite not knowing many of the comedians featured it was an interesting read and I did really enjoy it. A few of the names I recognised as people who had been cited as influences on comedians who I do know so it was nice to read and learn about these. However it felt that if the comedian hadn’t either written their own book or been the subject of a biography then they weren’t included past a casual mention. Comedians such as Bill Hicks and Richard Pryor all fit the time frame and content style of the book but barely get mentioned. Bafflingly Russell Brand is frequently mentioned but I think you’d struggle to find anyone that really considers him to be a stand-up comedian let alone a ground-breaking one.

The end of the book felt rushed compared to the rest and only focused on a few recent comedians and seemingly only because they had already written and published books speaking about their own issues and behaviour. Understandably this was probably due to it being considerably more difficult to write about people who are alive as it’s obviously going to be a minefield for legal issues.

[Pavitra T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing to have come across the A to Z of comedy and the way it has witnessed an evolution overtime. Not only this, to have learnt the various emotions, events and vices gathered behind bringing alive that act, skit, monologue, style and quirk was a "woah" moment for me while reading. So much so, I went back to certain pages time and again. #GoodRead Indeed.

[Tam Johnstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author seems to have a real hard-on for Russell Brand but the early chapters on the roots of stand up are great.
3.5/5

[Stark]

Just a recounting of the bad behavior.without anything particularly interesting to say about it.

[Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really rather good but lacking in not really talking about either Spike Milligan or Bill Hicks, the first a manic depressive and the second someone who got in very deep with drugs. The latter chapters talking about modern stand ups made them come across as lacking in depth which I doubt is true for all except Michael McIntyre, Mr 'Tissue Thin' of the 21st Century. At any rate, it's the quickest I've read a book in recent times, so it can't be all bad.

[Joanne Parkington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was extremely easy to read ... straightforward & to the point whilst also being very interesting and amusing ... I couldn't put it down & ended up reading it in one sitting, a page turner from the start and a must read for comedy lovers and those that like to know what makes people tick .. my only complaint was that it wasn't long enough .... should have been a bigger book !!