Comedy showcases are something of a mainstay of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, so much so that if you were to ask someone who’s never been to the festival what they imagine it’s like, they’re likely to suggest ‘a show with lots of comedians competing against each other’.
Get Your Geek On: A Nerdy Comedy Showcase is, as the name suggests, a nerd/fandom themed showcase framed around an interactive quiz. As we all pile into the snug-but-not-too-snug fringe venue, we’re asked to whip out our phones and vote on which movie/TV theme tune we want the show to open with, and of course the options include some of STARBURST’s favourite shows. Short interactive quizzes are used between acts to add tempo to the show, and it’s this touch that makes the format really work; the audience is involved as much as it wants to be, leading to a solid and positive (and very nerdy) vibe.
Juliette Burton is the compere, introducing three acts. There is a ‘just for fun’ competition between the acts as they are judged by how geeky they are, as well as how well they answer some of the quiz questions. They are ably assisted by Al, who handles the show’s interactive elements as well as displaying the scores from the various quiz segments. Burton is charming and fun, and has nerd charisma to spare.
We saw the show twice, and the guests included Ify Nwadiwe who talked about Gundam, Alex Mitchell, who talked about the brain and Mara Joy, who gave us a great bit about robots. Robyn Perkins delivered some delightful stand-up on sea-slugs and Erica Jean
talked about her astronomy obsessed family and how fun it is to talk in Klingon. David Hoare brought a ukulele and an powerful geeky energy. As you can tell from that short selection, the comedians invited are curated in order to delight nerds, geeks and well, your typical STARBURST reader.
A great, fun format that we hope to see more of in future.
