Review by Laura Money
Well, I’m not sure what I expected with a title like this, but it was probably some kind of Game of Thrones parody or video game homage. It’s half-right, I suppose. LadyNerd 2: Game of Nerds is an interactive Dungeons and Dragons-ish, Choose Your Own Adventure, combined with comedy, education and cabaret. How does this work? Well, it starts out fairly standard: Keira Daley (the LadyNerdist of them all) sings a song that introduces us to what she’s all about. Accompanied by pianist, Mark Chamberlain, the song extols the virtues of using correct grammar, identifying tv and comic book characters, and playing video games.
The show is devilishly clever: Daley and Chamberlain play cyborg robots who are guiding the audience on a mission to find artifacts from an Earth experiencing the fallout from a Nuclear Explosion. Each artifact was significant to several of the original LadyNerds – the brilliant women who helped change the world. This show is as much an homage to these inspirational women as it is a game. Much like Carmen Santiago, you learn about the historical figures that don’t usually get the recognition they deserve. From mathematicians to pioneering journalists, all of the women represented were brilliant minds. Of course, who you meet is entirely up to you…the show is different every night, as Daley really does follow the audience’s suggestions.
This highlights just how nuanced the show is. Daley and Chamberlain not only create songs and cabaret acts as the famous women, but also can’t get lost in the narrative, as it is new each night. Each woman who is ‘reactivated’ has a song dedicated to them – Daley sings it in the style of the era they are from, and it’s rather inspiring stuff. Punchy and entertaining, this show will have you singing along, keep you on the edge of your seat, and give you a sense of achievement (almost as if you were really playing a video game) – go more than once, because you won’t be satisfied until you see all of the possibilities.
When: 16th – 19th February 2017 | 6:00pm
Where: The Shambles | Fringe Central | PERTH
Tickets: $26 – $29.50
Info: Duration 60 minutes | Suitable 15+