A man from Thamesmead who has a “burning passion” for comedy is hoping to crowdfund his way into making a brand new sitcom.

Robert Rivett has always used comedy as an escapism and is now using his beaming personality to create the pilot of a new comedy sitcom called Dusty.

On Monday, September 26, Robert released an Indiegogo crowdfunding page to help pay for the production of Dusty to come-to-life.

His passion for acting began when he got himself an agent and attended acting classes at The Reel Scene in Pimlico, but he soon “grew tired” of the acting world.

After spending a few years obtaining several auditions and filming a commercial in Portugal, he then shifted his career to the world of stand-up comedy.

With no GCSE’S or formal education, the now 40-year-old decided he would write his own material, and in 2019, he released a 10-minute pilot of The Dump, a sit-com he created on his 37th Birthday.

This Is Local London: Robert RivettRobert Rivett (Image: Robert Rivett)

Robert told the News Shopper: “I'm a big fan of Always Sunny in Philadelphia - they're hilarious idiots and they don’t really work – which was kind what I wanted to work with.

“To me, I saw a recycling station (or dump) as the perfect scene to set the story.

“I left my full-time job and fully committed to shooting the film – I was so proud of the finished sketch.

“When The Dump pilot was released to the public, I was contacted by the BBC who wanted to talk about new comedy ideas.”

Robert, who currently works for the Royal Borough of Greenwich, says a few ideas sprung to mind when he was meeting with the BBC comedy developer, but due to the COVID pandemic hitting the UK, the meetings came to an abrupt halt.

With Robert’s passion for comedy still burning brightly, he decided to use the set back as motivation, and has since created Dusty based on his relationship with his brother Mike.

This Is Local London: Dusty (Robert Rivett)Dusty (Robert Rivett) (Image: Robert Rivett)

Robert said: “Dusty kind of follows a comedy angle of mine and my brothers close relationship.

“He respects the people who can drink all kinds of beer and sleep with lots of woman, whereas I respect the people who don’t do that.

“It’s a great contrast of characters.”

The Indiegogo crowd funding page is live for 60 days, with donations going towards props, food, travel expenses, locations, set insurance and more for the cast and production team at Dusty.

Robert added: “I’ve managed to cast a full 25/30 minute pilot for Dusty with 30 people so far.

“They’ve read the script and sent in testimonials to agree to participate, although they won’t be getting paid.

“People have been spreading the world to help.

“I have been pinching myself everyday – I can’t believe the amount of support I have received from people across the UK, and even some internationally.

“I don’t care about making money for myself, I have always been a creative person who loves to make people laugh.”

This Is Local London:

To promote Dusty, Robert has bagged a few celebrities to help spread the word of the Indiegogo crowdfund on social media.

Robert explained: “I think we have nearly 800 donations already, our target is £3,000.

“Tony Wave from Afterlife and Matthew Horne from Gavin and Stacey have already shared videos on their twitter pages about Dusty.

“When the crowdfunding ends, we will have our budget and we’ll hopefully begin shooting in April.

“I’ve already got a full cast, as well as a camera man, director, sound guy and photographer who are helping out for free.

“Once we’ve filmed, I would love to use the crowdfunding money to host a screening and celebrate the show.

“It would be great for everyone to spread the word and make Dusty something people will talk about in the near future.”

Donate to the crowdfund here 

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