Comedy review: Ryan Cull: Brace Yourself

Many kids dream of becoming a footballer. Not many have that ambition utterly hobbled by a hip condition that means they have to spend two years wearing leg braces.

Star rating: ****

Venue: Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14)

That’s two years when you don’t get invited to birthday parties for fear you wreck the carpet, two years when you feel a total outsider.

All of which might have you expecting a review of some tragic life story, but Ryan Cull wasn’t to be pitied; he found the funny when his parents realised a disabled son meant easy parking, and when he wanted to get to the front of a queue at an amusement park.

And he’s still milking those awkward years, telling Fringe audiences how braces didn’t just reshape his body, they helped form his personality.

Cull is able to engage easily with the audience as he somehow makes the most unlikely scenarios amusing – bearpits, anyone? It’ll be interesting to see what he does next – a show this specific can only be toured for so long – but Ryan Cull is definitely one to watch.

Until 28 August.

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