“If you don’t laugh at the disabled guy, you are going to hell!” Lee Ridley begins, and immediately inspires unanimous laughter. It’s not often you see a man with cerebral palsy cracking jokes in front of a packed crowd, but Lost Voice Guy (Ridley) does so with ease.
Go along to see this show, if only to see someone tackling the Tories’ disability policies with triumphant sarcasm.
Of course, little of Ridley’s day-to-day life can be described as easy. His hour-long show is dedicated to educating the masses about the difficulties he faces and how the general public can avoid interacting with him like idiots. Just make sure you don’t feel sorry for him, he maintains, he’s “a bastard”.
Using a speech-generating device throughout, Ridley makes jokes at his own (and David Cameron’s) expense. Aware that intonation and adlib are impossible, Ridley highlights his restrictions by mocking them. This is self-deprecating comedy at its most affecting and entertaining. By using TV clips and music, the lack of variety in his vocal delivery is certainly made up for.
He pokes fun at a few others too – Kanye West, Donald Trump and Katie Price’s disabled son to name but a few. The latter probably being the most successful, as Price’s son gets away with saying ‘cunt’ on primetime TV. “We can get away with anything,” Ridley laughs. Soon, Ridley himself is playing the literal disability card.
Lost Voice Guy provides some ‘top tips’ for what to do should you meet him in the street, and they work to question each and every one of your prejudices. Unfortunately, however, with flowing jokes at the beginning, the set soon slows and the laughs dry up. Perhaps this is due to the heavier subject matter, but a few more humorous interjections are necessary.
Go along to see this show, if only to see someone tackling the Tories’ disability policies with triumphant sarcasm.
