“Hard-hitting comedy […] with no light to the shade”
This is part of a series of shorter reviews from Edinburgh Fringe, August 2026.
Ryan Cullen wastes no time in bombarding the audience with joke after joke. They fly at you so thick and fast that you can be assured you will get your money’s worth in terms of jokes per minute. Cullen’s show promises pitch-black comedy, and there is definitely the darkest humour here, with jokes that touch on all manner of taboo topics such as abortions, incest and paedophilia. It will certainly not be to everyone’s taste, but Cullen doesn’t let the sometimes muted audience reactions stop him from ploughing on regardless.
The show is clearly split into sections – one section focuses on the current state of America, another on Cullen’s upbringing in Ireland – but Cullen struggles to find ways to connect the sections together. There is no throughline to the show (although Cullen is very clear that there is no intention for one) but it does mean that the endless stream of hard-hitting comedy can feel a little exhausting with no light to the shade.
Cullen gets the audience involved at certain times, but seems to struggle to respond when the audience don’t reply as he expects. He calls out for various nationalities, and when no one of those nationalities is present, he continues with his jokes regardless. When he does ask what city someone is from, he proceeds to tell jokes about a different city that he assures us is “similar”. It all feels incredibly scripted, which is not a bad thing, but doesn’t seem to be the vibe Cullen is going for. This is comedy that causes tension for the sake of it, with seemingly no point to the punchlines.
Tom Morley, August 2026
“Ryan Cullen: Cullen Me Softly” plays at 9:15pm at The Studio, Monkey Barrel Comedy until 30th August.
This review was written whilst the show was still in previews.
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