EDINBURGH 2025: Review: NERDS, Underbelly
Nerds runs at Edfringe until 25 August
By: Natalie O'Donoghue Aug. 07, 2025
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Nerds is a new musical comedy presented by Paul Taylor Mills that is based around a rivalry between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
We meet Microsoft creator Bill Gates when he comes up with his first big idea at 20. He has one friend and no love life to speak of so he’s focused on his work. And it’s going well for him until he meets Steve Jobs are a tech fair. Jobs has the idea of putting a screen on a computer and suddenly his ideas seem a lot cooler than Gates’.
Steve Jobs is more of a fun hippie than a nerd. In his signature black polo neck, he has no issue with popularity and he oozes cool. Bill Gates takes over with superior software but then Jobs bounces back with the invention of the iPhone.
The cast are capable but there’s not a huge amount to work with here. The ensemble numbers are fun but the same jokes just keep getting rehashed for 70 minutes. While it doesn’t really matter that its not factual there is also a bit too much creativity taken with the details of their personal lives.
As a musical, Nerds is absolutely fine. It’s not something you’ll be thinking about for long afterwards but there are a few laughs and it is performed by a talented cast.
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