WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!
If you know, you know.
If you donโt knowโฆ congratulations. Youโre about to discover one of the most gloriously unhinged combinations of comedy, gaming, audience participation and controlled psychological warfare currently rampaging around the planet. ๐
Comedian John Robertson is back with his cult live-action videogame comedy spectacular The Dark Room, and judging by the clips flying around social media, things are going exactly as they should.
Which is to sayโฆ
BADLY. VERY BADLY. FOR THE AUDIENCE.
The legendary interactive show is currently tearing through the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, before Robertson takes his darkened chamber of questionable decisions across the Atlantic and eventually down under.
And yes, this absolutely sits in The Riff Reportโs wheelhouse.
Itโs loud.
Itโs ridiculous.
Itโs nerdy.
Itโs chaotic.
Basically, replace the guitars with an enormous glowing head and weโre home. ๐ค๐ฎ
๐ SOโฆ WHAT THE HELL IS THE DARK ROOM?
The Dark Room takes the wonderfully frustrating world of old-school text adventure videogames and turns it into a live comedy gameshow.
Audience members are selected to play.
Theyโre given choices.
They make what they believe is the sensible decision.
And then John Robertson destroys their hopes and dreams in front of a room full of people.
Beautiful stuff. ๐
The show mixes improvisation, stand-up comedy, gaming culture and audience participation, with Robertson appearing as the terrifying host of the whole thing.
The basic objective sounds simple enough:
Escape The Dark Room.
Good luck with that, butt.
The show has become a genuine cult phenomenon, particularly among gamers, geeks and comedy fans who enjoy watching somebody else make an absolutely catastrophic decision under pressure.
And social media has introduced the madness to an even bigger audience.
Clips from the show have gone viral across TikTok and Instagram, with Robertsonโs booming interrogations and interactions with unsuspecting contestants becoming instantly recognisable.
One question in particular has effectively become the battle cry of the entire experience:
๐ฃ๏ธ โWHAT IS YOUR NAME?!โ
You can practically hear it while reading that.
The screenshot doing the rounds shows another wonderfully chaotic moment from the touring production, accompanied by the caption:
โTHE DARK ROOM: WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!โ
The accompanying post simply says:
โThe Dark Room is having a wild time on tour!โ
Judging by the audience reaction, that might be underselling it slightly.
๐ญ THE DARK ROOM HITS EDINBURGH FRINGE
Robertson has brought The Dark Room back to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for another monster run in 2026.
The show runs from:
๐
5โ30 August 2026
๐ Gilded Balloon Patter House โ Doonstairs, Edinburgh
โฐ 10:00pm
โฑ๏ธ Approximately 60 minutes
Tickets vary depending on the performance, generally sitting between ยฃ9.50 and ยฃ15.50.
And this isnโt some little experimental Fringe oddity thatโs only just appeared from behind a curtain.
The Dark Room has serious history at Edinburgh.
The production sold out its Fringe runs between 2019 and 2025, while its wonderfully bizarre mixture of videogames and live comedy has helped build a seriously devoted following.
For 2026, there are even new deathtraps waiting for players.
Because apparently the existing Dark Room wasnโt traumatising enough. ๐
๐ค WAITโฆ HASNโT THIS BEEN AT DOWNLOAD?!
Oh yes.
Now weโre talking.
The Dark Room has appeared at places including Download Festival, Glastonbury, PAX and MCM Comic Con, alongside its UK touring adventures.
Which explains why it feels strangely at home around rock and metal crowds.
Think about it.
Hundreds of sweaty people.
Someone shouting.
People making questionable decisions.
Occasional flashing lights.
Everybody laughing at somebody elseโs misfortune.
Thatโs basically a festival campsite after midnight anyway. ๐บ๐
Thereโs a wonderfully rock โnโ roll energy surrounding Robertsonโs performance too. The Dark Room isnโt polite little sit-down comedy where youโre worried about coughing at the wrong moment.
Itโs an experience.
Youโre part gameshow contestant, part victim and part member of a baying crowd desperately hoping somebody else gets selected.
๐ THE DARK ROOM GOES INTERNATIONAL
Once Edinburgh has been thoroughly terrorised, Robertson isnโt putting the giant glowing head back in storage.
The Dark Roomโs 2026 adventures continue internationally.
๐ฎ PAX WEST โ SEATTLE
๐
4โ7 September 2026
๐ PAX West, Seattle
The Dark Room heads Stateside as part of one of gaming cultureโs biggest gatherings.
Frankly, throwing this show into a building packed with hardcore gamers sounds dangerously appropriate.
๐ฝ NEW YORK DEBUT
๐
9โ12 September 2026
๐ ASYLUM NYC, New York
โฐ 7:00pm
This marks The Dark Roomโs New York debut.
New Yorkers probably think theyโve seen everything.
They havenโt met John Robertsonโs giant floating head yet.
Best of luck, lads. ๐
๐ฆ๐บ PAX AUSTRALIA โ MELBOURNE
๐
10 October 2026
๐ PAX Australia, Melbourne
Then itโs back down under as The Dark Room returns to PAX Australia.
Gaming convention + The Dark Room?
Thatโs basically putting petrol next to a bonfire and wondering what might happen.
๐ค JOHN ROBERTSON IS DOING EVEN MORE AT THE FRINGE
Because apparently one show wasnโt enough chaos for one human being, Robertson is also performing his new stand-up show:
JOHN ROBERTSON: EXCITABLE BOY!
during Edinburgh Fringe.
So if an hour of being screamed at by an enormous illuminated gaming overlord somehow leaves you wanting more Robertson, Edinburgh has you covered.
โ ๏ธ ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK
Anyone considering entering The Dark Room should probably know what theyโre signing themselves up for.
Expect:
๐ฎ Audience participation
๐ Improvised comedy
๐ฃ๏ธ Strong language
๐ก Flashing lights
๐ Terrible decisions
โ ๏ธ Questionable survival prospects
And possibly the sudden inability to remember your own bloody name when somebody shouts:
โWHAT IS YOUR NAME?!โ
Weโve all been there.
๐ฎ THE RIFF REPORT VERDICT
We bloody love stuff like this.
Rock and metal culture has always overlapped beautifully with gaming, horror, comedy and general nerdiness, and The Dark Room feels like somebody chucked all four into a blender and pressed the button marked CHAOS.
Itโs interactive theatre for people whoโd rather be at Download.
Itโs a videogame where the controller is human panic.
Itโs a gameshow hosted by someone who appears to have absolutely no interest in whether you survive.
Tidy. ๐๐ค
And with The Dark Room continuing to explode across social media while touring Edinburgh, Seattle, New York and Melbourne, John Robertsonโs wonderfully deranged creation clearly isnโt disappearing into the darkness anytime soon.
So rememberโฆ
Should you find yourself sitting in the audienceโฆ
Should the lights suddenly hit youโฆ
Should John Robertson turn his attention in your directionโฆ
There is one vitally important thing you need to know.
YOUR NAME.
Because youโre probably going to be asked.
Very loudly.
๐ฎ WELCOME TO THE DARK ROOM.
Try not to die, mun. ๐๐ฅ
