by Anne-Louise Fortune
The Dark Room, the inter-active text-based adventure game show that emerged from the stand-up comedy of Australian John Robertson. John is a frequent fixture on our entertainment schedule here at Starburst Towers, where we’ve seen the show in every sort of venue, from comedy clubs to the vast arena of the Sci-FI Weekender, and it has made a triumphant return to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.
John’s journey is a fascinating one. 2020 was a brutal year for the live entertainment industry. The effect on performers, many of them freelancers, was devastating. John is one of a growing number of performers who have established themselves on Twitch, the streaming platform most well-known as an outlet for gamers. We sat down with John to find out more.
How did the Pandemic change your career?
Hehehehehe, I went mad – and monetised it! I’d always thought I was kinda lazy, but around about the time we did a 48-hour marathon online stand-up show for charity I thought maybe I was wrong… then the 50 hour one we did confirmed it. Me and my audience have made some very funny, very beautiful, very strange things together. I definitely got to finally give my imagination free reign – so I’m very happy, but the house is a mess and the neighbours are surprisingly tolerant of me screaming “YA DIE! YA DIE! YA DIE!” at all hours of the night.
The Dark Room visits a lot of different venues. Is it a challenge getting an audience to attend a show that isn’t ‘traditional theatre’?
The UK has such diverse tastes in live entertainment, so I think as long as it’s good for somebody, they’ll come out. I’ve been at the end of the pier in Blackpool with comedians who I thought died in the 70s and whose material dies nightly, and in the middle of London with glittery nude acrobats. Any country that thinks pantomime is normal definitely has a huge imagination.
How did the move to online spaces change things for you?
It changed everything! I can do things I’d never imagine doing in a live show. I’m like 40 different characters these days. We’ve got in-jokes built on a solid foundation of more in-jokes. Somebody’s having a bad day in the Twitch chat? You can wish them well, and then get back to the usual carnage. It really builds a connection with a crowd – the underlying sense that everyone involved just wants everyone else to be happy. Unless you’re a troll, in which case, my God, we’ll tear you to bits.
What’s the key to your comedy?
I like to play with people. And if that means we all build some big silly idea together, that’s great. And if that means I’m shirtless and screaming and crowdsurfing, well, that’s good too.
How would you describe the Twitch Channel?
The slogans of Twitch channel Robbotron are “We are diverse, perverse, wholesome, yet awful” and “SDNS – Sex, Death, Nerd Shit”. We’re an interactive, inclusive space where one minute we’re discussing science fiction with Adrian Tchaikovsky, then I’m playing a game where I’m a shark. We do a new thing about every 10 minutes, so if my live coverage of the news isn’t tickling your pickle, you can come back for when we play the weird games I’ve built, like The Dark Room, my parody of Japanese romance games – L.A.D.S – Live-Action Dating Simulator or the sad clown text adventure
I Am Pagliacci, or literally anything else we all come up with. It’s hugely community-driven.
On the Twitch Stream, John has multiple characters. We asked him about the anime fanboy, Kevin. Where does he come from?
Super Genki Neko Kevin-Chan comes from a lifetime of going to anime conventions and meeting twelve million Super Genki Neko Kevin-Chans. Yatta! uWu etc.
Another character is called D.A.D – Divorced Aussie Dad…
Seriously the most intense show I do! Divorced Aussie Dad is a down-on-his-luck father cooking for his children – so most Sundays I stand in my kitchen as this guy, the Twitch chat are my kids, and he makes them lunch. It’s become a legitimate improv soap opera, with stepfathers going missing, suspicious friends with odd packages, and his on-again, off-again relationship with the kid’s mum. One of the greatest surprises of my life is how moving this show is. And the food is terrible.
What’s it like to be back at the fringe?
Phenomenal. I’ve done 11 of these, and this is low-key the best Fringe I’ve ever had. My team are great, the crowds have been terrific. I’ve played music and had a saw vs clothes horse duel with one of my heroes, crowdsurfed a comedian to celebrate the legalization of homosexuality in Singapore, and thrown a LOT of bread at people. I’m a very lucky man to be indulged in this manner.
How does the streaming balance with the live shows?
Usually pretty well! I’ll stream Mon – Thurs, then Fri + Sat nights I do live shows, which I’ll stream if I can. Then it’s more streams on Sundays. Been a bit hard at the Fringe, but people have enjoyed my streams of wandering the streets and having comics come up for chats, so that’s been grand.
Was it different returning to the stage after building such a following?
Let’s put it this way, when you go onstage and the crowd bellows your catchphrases out as you say them, it’s hard to feel more included. Then they crowdsurf you, and goddammit, they found a way.
John’s show The Dark Room is at the Edinburgh Fringe until the 28th of August 2022. Tickets can be found here and Kid’s show tickets here. Outwith the Edinburgh Fringe, Tour Dates can be found here.
You can join John’s Twitch channel via: twitch.com/robbotron
