Nerds - Cowbarn Underbelly Bristo Square - Edinburgh Fringe Review

Apple versus Microsoft. Jobs versus Gates. A battle for the ages. A musical crammed full of comedy, rivalry and a number of great songs.

The creation of ‘Nerds’ has been a lengthy process, but now running at the Edinburgh Fringe, I can state that the work has been worth it as this new musical shines, boasting a cast featuring west end names, a quirky and comical tale of truth mixed with a fair dose of imagination, and songs that will have you beaming from ear to ear.

Steve Jobs (Kane Oliver Parry) and Bill Gates (Dan Buckley) are nerds, both in competition to create the best technology possible. This is the dawn of the digital age, and they both want to be the leader of the technological revolution. In an ‘anything you can do, I can do better’ battle, we see the pair trying their best to always be that one step further forwards, with hilarious results as both are willing to do absolutely everything to succeed.

Ethan Pascal Peters plays Steve Wozniak, perhaps more concerned with keeping track of his hamster then keeping track of whatever Steve is up too, and Elliott Evans as Paul Allen feels constantly in the shadow of Gates, wondering what happened to their partnership as the power goes to Bill’s head. Sally, Myrtle, Dustin and Tom Watson, played by Elise Zavou, Teleri Hughes, Curtis Patrick and Julie Yammanee respectively, all play important roles in the lives of Gates and Jobs, from romances to players in their businesses as we follow the ups and downs of both Apple and Microsoft.

I won’t pretend to know the real story of what happened between Jobs and Gates, and to what means the pair went to in order for their companies to be the great successes that they are, but it is clear that a fair amount of imagination and artistic license is used here to further add to the comedy of it all. We see Gates as a 90’s popstar, Jobs as a hippie, spying missions as they try to steal ideas and high energy argument sequences. But all of this heightens the action, pushes the story along and earns a great amount of laughter.

The songs are fun and high energy, with all cast members impressing vocally. Buckley’s emotional early on solo stands out and the ensemble numbers are full of exuberance. Whilst I can’t say that I walked out with the tunes running circles around my head, that doesn’t take away from the enjoyment factor.

As this production runs at 1 hour 10 minutes to fit into a busy fringe schedule, there is definitely from for growth and expansion. Ensemble characters could be used more and given room to breath, and it would be nice to see more of Wozniak and Allen and how they really felt about being the right hand men to the two great technology leaders. All of this would be possible should ‘Nerds’ be taken further than the fringe and be given a longer running time.

‘Nerds’ is a fun and frivolous adventure on the rollercoaster that was the competition between Microsoft and Apple, full of laughter and wonderful characters. It is incredibly slick with a set crammed full of nostalgic technology, choreographed brilliantly and presented in an very polished manner, and is fully deserving of a expansion to full show length, which I am sure will happen one day.

Nerds runs at Cowburn Underbelly Bristo Square until 25th August at 12.30.