4 stars
When is science funny? When two scientists from different disciplines, and hemispheres, meet in a pub to discuss it.
The hosts of The Uncertainty Principle, Ben McAllister and Taryn Laubenstein, draw the audience in with their irreverent and open exploration of the sciences. They use their differences to their advantage, asking probing questions and breaking down jargon in an extremely accessible way.
Opening night delved deep into the various ways DNA research is currently being used to gain insight into ancestry, including the specifics of our hosts, and criminal investigations.
When explaining the results of personal ancestry testing, Laubenstein did not shy away from hard discussion—particularly regarding the ways institutional racism contributes to the limitations of many data collections.
A conversation with Jeremy Bourhill, experimental quantum physicist and inaugural guest, split the main topic into two halves. He introduced principles of quantum mechanics and did a remarkable job of simplifying the concepts around his work on developing quantum computing.
Closing the show was a mini quiz, Survival of the Fittest, that used questions gathered by the audience. It pitted our hosts against each other in what will be a season long contest.
The opening night of the show is to become the debut episode of a podcast. While the relative newness to the format showed occasionally, the rapport between the hosts was strong and will likely develop over the course of this run.
Each performance will become its own episode in a longer run, and each night will tackle a new STEM topic with a new guest.
Local science nerds rejoice, Perth has a science communication podcast to rival The Infinite Monkey Cage.
Tickets available from the FRINGE WORLD website.
KRYSTEL ROSE HEWETT