NERDS
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
★★★
“Packed with technology-related puns, the script is generally entertaining”
In ‘Nerds’, Steve Jobs is a hippie-turned-leather-clad bad boy and Bill Gates a traumatised but vindictive incel. In an hour and a half, this musical charts their trajectories from garage-based geeks to some of the richest and most powerful men in the world, paying little mind to fact all the while. Despite the relatively weak script, director Nick Winston has managed to craft a highly entertaining show.
Kane Oliver Parry (as Steve Jobs) and Dan Buckley (as Bill Gates) both deliver stellar performances. Buckley’s treatment of Gates’ evolution from the butt of the joke to jeering bully is particularly satisfying, and his rapping is an unexpected treat. Jobs transforms from an idealistic hippie into a greedy tech bro, but Parry is given much, much less space in the script to flesh out this change. Teleri Hughes gives a particularly strong vocal performance as Myrtle, Gates’ love interest, while Elise Zavou as Jobs’ principled crush contributes a refreshingly critical note. The ensemble works well together and makes the creative choreography look effortless.
The set, designed by Sophia Pardon, consists of a table and a few shelving units, both on wheels, allowing for sleek and satisfying transitions. Paired with gorgeous lighting design by Matt Hockley, the show is a joy to look at. Additionally, the off-stage band, led by Chris Duffy, delivers a pleasing 80s-rock soundtrack that makes the piece feel cohesive where the writing falls short.
Packed with technology-related puns, the script is generally entertaining. However, various plotlines are abandoned as quickly as they are introduced. We hear something about a guy at IMB, a legal battle, intellectual theft, Jobs’ sudden interest in religion, etc, but all are discarded by the end of the relevant song. The ending, in which Jobs and Gates predictably give up their feud, felt unsatisfying.
Created by Jordan Allen-Dutton, Erik Weiner and Hal Goldberg in the 2000s, the tone of the musical is definitely silly, but it is not necessarily satirical. While Gates and Jobs are portrayed as self-centred and greedy, this is presented as a personal rather than a larger structural issue in Silicon Valley, and their flaws are mostly resolved by the end of the musical. The upbeat interpretation feels entirely disengaged from the right-wing, neoliberal thrust of Silicon Valley today, making the script feel rather outdated.
Nerds is not the topical, thought-provoking musical satire I was hoping for, but the talented cast and high production value make this worth a watch.
NERDS
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Reviewed on 15th August 2025 at Cowbarn at Underbelly, Bristo Square
by Lola Stakenburg
Photography by Pamela Raith
