Photo by Ben Broomfield https://www.benbroomfield.com/ @photobenphoto
Mr John Robertson:
Comedian, streamer, author, improviser, actor, videogame writer,
insult comic and human hurricane. Has a fulfilling personal life.
LGBTQIA+, gamer, Goth, geeky and good at screaming at large groups.
Constantly yelling somewhere at a comic-con, rock festival, or in a nice theatre.
Keeps going viral for doing filthy crowdwork on TikTok and Instagram, which is nice.
SOLD OUT Edinburgh Fringe 2019 – 2025
British Comedy Guide’s Best-Reviewed Comedy Show of Edinburgh Fringe – 2025
Nominated – Best International Show – New Zealand Comedy Festival – 2025
Runner Up – Biggest Prize In Comedy – Edinburgh Fringe 2022
Winner – Chortle Legend Of Lockdown 2021
Credits:
Created live-action videogame comedy The Dark Room
which has appeared at PAX, Glastonbury, Edinburgh Fringe, Download Festival, Glastonbury, BlueDot, 2000 Trees, MCM Comic-Con, EGX, Soho Theatre,
UK Games Expo, Worldcon and Twitch global front page.
The Dark Room is also an actual videogame, an online show
and was originally a joke that became a YouTube hit back in 2012)
Streams on twitch.tv/robbotron, where our community are called Fuckloaves
we are DIVERSE, PERVERSE, WHOLESOME, YET AWFUL
and have raised A LOT OF MONEY FOR CHARITY (also we have our own wiki!)
Wrote the Puffin novel The Little Town Of Marrowville,
Has a voice role in upcoming videogame Stage Fright (from the makers of Overcooked!)
Plays with Acquisitions Incorporated
The Dark Room has appeared in legendary webcomic Oglaf
TEDx talk on the semiotics of film and social media
Completed three 50 hour marathon shows for charity on Twitch global front page,
Faked a seizure on Australian Idol and met his wife doing it,
been published in horror anthologies,
hosted two years of the UK’s only videogame TV show,
been the world’s greatest cosplay competition MC (terrible crowd surfer, though),
and done a lot of it while being better dressed than the average vampire.
Over the years The Dark Room has led to collaborations with companies and brands including
BBC, Comic Relief, Bethesda, 2K Games, Special Effect, Twitch, EB Games, PAX, FremantleMedia,
Tuesday’s Child, Warner Bros, Hat Trick Productions, Octopus Energy, Jagex, 7thingsmedia, Sumo Digital, Unknown Worlds, NQ64 and EB Games Australia.
Book John or The Dark Room for your private and corporate events!
John’s kick-ass clothes are made by Gallery Serpentine
and yours should be, too.
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STAND-UP
“★★★★ his material is edgy, intelligent and smoothly-delivered… this is astute, amoral stand-up for the morbidly inclined” – The Age, Melbourne
John does high-energy improvised stand-up, talks a tonne about sex, gaming and pop culture, tours The Dark Room and either writes new hour shows each year or create new solo shows by playing with the crowd. Here’s most of them:
2025: The Dark Room (PAX Australia, Edinburgh Fringe,
Nominated – Best International Show – NZ Comedy Festival 2025)
2025: John Robertson Plays With The Audience (Edinburgh Fringe, UK National Tour)
2024: The Dark Room (PAX East, PAX West, PAX Australia, Download Fest, Worldcon, Edinburgh Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, Reykjavik Fringe)
2024: The Human Hurricane (Leicester Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe)
2023: The Dark Room (Winner – Weekly Award Best Comedy FringeWorld Perth,
Glastonbury Festival, Deer Shed, Sell-Out Edinburgh Fringe)
2022: The Dark Room (Sell-Out Edinburgh Fringe)
2019: The Dark Room (Total Sell-Out Edinburgh Fringe)
2018: Sweaty Sexy Party Party (Edinburgh Fringe)
2017: Dominant! (Edinburgh Fringe, Utrecht Comedy Festival)
2016: Arena Spectacular (nominated Edinburgh Fringe
Amused Moose Award, Fringeworld)
2016: The Dark Room 4.0 (Udderbelly London, EdFringe, Nottingham Comedy Festival, Leicester Comedy Fest, Magners International Comedy Festival, Insomnia Festival, Southbound)
2015: Let’s Redecorate! (Edinburgh Fringe, Leicester Comedy Fest)
2015: The Dark Room 3.0 (Udderbelly London, EdFringe, Soho Theatre)
2014: A Nifty History of Evil (Edinburgh Fringe, Brighton Fringe
2014: The Dark Room 2.0 (Winner – Argus Angel, Brighton Fringe)
2013: The Dark Room (Edinburgh Fringe)
2012: The Dark Room (Edinburgh Fringe)
2011: Dragon Punch (Edinburgh Fringe, Winner – Best Show – Wild West Comedy Festival, Supanova Pop Culture Expo)
2010: A Nifty History of Evil (Edinburgh Fringe, Winner – Critic’s Choice – Wild West Comedy Festival)
2009: Don’t Swallow (Blue Room Theatre,
Nominated Biggest Box Office 2009)
2008: Love Of A Pitiful Instrument (Blue Room Theatre)
2006: Killing Hun in the Sun (Rechabites Hall, Nominated Equity Award – Best New Play)
Countries Visited:
John has toured the Netherlands, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Czechia, Singapore, Germany, the Philippines, Cambodia, Greece, Thailand, Hong Kong, Switzerland, France, Spain, Australia,
Vietnam, the UK, U.S and Ireland.
Comedy Clubs
John has headlined for the following comedy clubs around the planet:
The Comedy Store, Glee, Chuckl, Off The Kerb, Komedia, Little Wander, Jongleurs, Manfords, The Stand, Hot Water Comedy Club Liverpool, Top Secret, XS Malarkey, Trapdoor Comedy, Sit-Down Comedy Club, TakeOut Comedy Hong Kong, The Mic In Hand, Local Laughs, Spleen Bar, Brisbane Powerhouse, Happy Endings Sydney, The Laugh Resort, Lazy Susan’s Comedy Den, Purple Cactus, Baby Blue Banana Budapest, The Comedy Lounge, The Rhino Room, Funhouse Comedy, NCF Comedy, Eminent Banter, The Comedy Club, Soho Comedy Club, The Comic’s Lounge, The Old Manly Boatshed, The Comedy Hour, Packsaddle Comedy, and a million billion others I’m too tired to type, it’s exhausting typing in the third person, I don’t want to type in the third person, I want to FUCK THEM
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Critical Acclaim
★★★★★ “it’s safe to say John Robertson is a comedy legend” Starburst ★★★★”A Rocky Horror for nerds…Reader, I howled!” – The Telegraph ★★★★ “A splendid comedy beast.” – The Scotsman, “★★★★★ – if your tastes run to the dark, you must see this show – British Comedy Guide, ★★★★ “stylish, alternative, funny” – Chortle, ★★★★ “a force of nature” Daily Telegraph, London “Brilliant, bemusing and bloodthirsty” – Metro, “Brilliantly manic” Cambridge Independent, “A cult is born” – Bruce Dessau, ★★★★- The List, “★★★★★ he strides onto the stage giving precisely zero fucks”- The Skinny, “★★★★ a triumph” – Herald Sun, “★★★★★ You must see The Dark Room at least once in your life” Scottish Sun, “The UK’s most manic comic” – Derbyshire TImes, “Watching audiences tackle the challenge and fail is one of the funniest sights around… don’t miss it.” – Daily Telegraph, Sydney
“NOT TO BE MISSED” Guardian
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Columnist + Writer
John’s dad was a journalist, so to make him proud (and also money), John has written op-ed pieces for Cleo, Vice, The Huffington Post, SBS Comedy and The List. Have a peek at a Vice article here.
He’s also written material for podcasts The Gargle, The Last Post, wrote The Dark Room videogame, and, of course, his gothic adventure novel for kids.
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Complete List Of Awards Dating Back To Puberty
2025 – NZ Comedy Festival Best International Comedy – The Dark Room (nominated)
2024 – Best Comedy – DarkChat Edinburgh Fringe – The Human Hurricane
2023 – FringeWorld Critics Choice – The Dark Room For Kids (nominated)
2023 – FringeWorld Best Comedy – The Dark Room (nominated)
2022 – NextUp Biggest Award In Comedy – Edinburgh Fringe (runner-up)
2021 – Chortle Award – Legend Of Lockdown for Twitch.TV/Robbotron
2018 – Best Children’s Show – The Dark Room For Kids – Leicester Comedy Festival
2016 – ThreeWeeks Critics Choice Award – Body Of Work – Edinburgh Fringe
2016 – Amused Moose Award, Edinburgh Fringe – Arena Spectacular!
2014 – Argus Angel Award, Brighton Fringe – The Dark Room
2011 – Best Show, Wild West Comedy Festival – Dragon Punch
2010 – Best Comedy Performance – DarkChat Edinburgh Fringe – A Nifty History Of Evil
2010 – Critics Choice, Wild West Comedy Festival – A Nifty History Of Evil
2010 – Artists Choice, Wild West Comedy Festival – A Nifty History Of Evil
2006 – Best New Play, Perth Equity Guild Awards – Killing Hun In The Sun (nominated)