Review: Nerds, the Steve Jobs and Bill Gates musical at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025

Lisa in the theatre
Aug 8
3 min read

A new musical comedy about the rival fathers of the tech revolution, Bill Gates of Microsoft and Steve Jobs of Apple, comes to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 following previews at Leicester Curve. Nerds boasts an acclaimed creative team and a West End star cast. It plays at Underbelly Bristo Square until 25th August.

Nerds ★★★★★

review: 7 August 2025 | Underbelly Bristo Square, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Nerds examines the link between two of the most iconic inventors in computing history. Frenemies Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are the geniuses behind global brands Apple and Microsoft respectively. Nerds, the comedy musical, follows their journeys from geeks who invent things in garages, to geeks who become the trailblazers of the personal tech revolution. It's a hilarious, full production new musical that comes to the Edinburgh Fringe sharp, slick and ready to wow. This is no beta-version!

Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner's book and lyrics are sublime. Full of clever, cutting comedy and witty observations, Nerds the musical races along at a thundering pace giving us a whirlwind peek at the social anxieties, ambitions and tempers behind the two iconic innovators as they progress from the college campus to Silicon Valley and world domination. Completely uproarious and engrossing from beginning to end, this is perfect musical theatre storytelling in a tight one hour and 10 minutes.

Dan Buckley as Bill Gates in Nerds the musical. Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Expertly directed by Nick Winston, Nerds races from scene to scene with costume changes and props flowing in number rarely seen in a fringe production. It's perfectly judged to fit as much content and as many brilliant songs as possible into the fringe-theatre-length time slot without overwhelming the audience.

Hal Goldberg's score is varied and fun, perfectly suited to a show that doesn't stop for breath. Performed by a incomparable cast with credits from a number of high profile West End musicals, the acting and vocal performances from the entire eight-strong company of Nerds are outstanding.

Kane Oliver Parry's Steve Jobs is a super-cool, restless, revolutionary and his betrayal of Steve Wozniak (Ethan Pascal-Peters) is fully exposed here. Parry's stage presence is dazzling - he even has time for a few Fame-like leaps and twirls in between being a revolutionary. Glorious! Dan Buckley's uneasy Bill Gates is a work of genius. Buckley's voice is sensational and his comic-timing divine. Together they are a match made in megalomaniac heaven; impeccable casting.

Curtis Patrick who plays "the ensemble guy" is spellbinding. He almost steals the show every time he's on stage. And with a company of this high calibre, that's some achievement! Playing the various roles he does in Nerds, Patrick lays down one of the best comic performances I've seen on stage for a long time. And his curtain-call is inspired. One to watch for sure.

With pitch-perfect performances, a bright book and blistering soundtrack, Nerds is hands-down the best musical theatre production I've seen at Edinburgh Fringe. Perfect for tech-bros, theatre geeks, or anyone who appreciates shrewd comedy, Nerds is as super-smart as its subjects ★★★★★

Nerds plays at Underbelly at Edinburgh Festival Fringe until 24th August. Find more info below.

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