There are Fringe shows that feel like commodities – you, the atomised audience, provide your money and your ‘bums on seats’ in exchange for a slice of entertainment, edification or enlightenment. And then there are events like Nerd Ball that are forged in community, celebrate community and are the lifeblood of community. I went to see Nerd Ball on Monday. It restored my faith in cabaret.
Following the success of their monthly shows, The Fools – a “very autistic” “drag troupe/art collective/polycule/whatever” are bringing two cabarets to the Brighton Fringe, one on the theme of History and one on Musical Theatre. Monday 12th was History, attended by a packed queer, mostly neurodivergent crowd at Dalton’s. It promised ‘a joyous explosion of special interests’, but I hadn’t expected it to be so powerful, or to be so moved right from the start.
“We’ve always been here” declared compere Theyvid, before the whole company in togas, bacchanalia-style, launched into a beautifully staged rendition of La Vie Boheme from Rent. Alongside Jon Larson’s lyrics – ‘to leather, to dildos, to curry vindaloo’, the company had inserted a few of their own – Doctor Who, Chappel Roan, online sex and D&D all took their place in the riotous celebration of bohemian joy and defiance.
It’s hard to single out acts from the line up because every one of them knocked it out of the park. But to give you an idea of the breadth – Poet Erin James reminded us of less binary understandings of gender that were – and are – suppressed by colonialism. Subira Joy addressed the internalisation of oppression, including how learning to twerk as a diasporic body involves removing the ‘shroud of caucasian shame’. Curt Jester’s documentary on Brighton as ‘Philomena Cunt’ induced howls of laughter from the audience – it featured a comedy gold script that have could have come from Cunk herself and concluded with ‘Philomena’ stripping in person to Pump Up the Jam.
Fashion historian Eleanor Medhurst talked us through the history of lesbian signalling. The audience sang along to Theyvid’s performance of the Horrible Histories Dick Turpin song and a few audience members were brought up on stage to participate in a quiz, mostly about queer history but where one question was ‘give us your favourite dinosaur fact’. Theyvid hosted with wit, warmth and poise.
This passionate celebration of the queer community throughout history was a banquet for the head, the heart and the senses. Joyous? Definitely. It also felt vital. Queer nerds of Brighton: get yourselves down to Nerd Ball. Its existence is resistance. Long may it continue.
Anjali gives The Fool’s Present: Nerd Ball five stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The Fool’s Present: Nerd Ball (Musical Theatre edition) is next on May 19 at 7.30pm at Daltons Brighton.
Tickets: Brighton Fringe
Venue: Daltons, Lower Promenade, Madeira Drive
