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HELLO! One of the UK’s finest improvisers will arrive, raise high-octane comedy mayhem for an hour, then leave. Crowdwork! Crowdsurfs! Electric ukulele for the body and soul! Come join the creator of the legendary Fringe hit The Dark Room for his new interactive party show!
“Brilliantly manic” Cambridge Independent
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ “a splendid comedy beast” Scotsman
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️“Highly recommended” FringeReview
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ “astute, amoral comedy” Age, Melbourne
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ "A force of nature" Daily Telegraph
Winner: Chortle Award
Winner: ThreeWeeks Editors Choice

News and Reviews for this Show

August 29, 2024  Bruce on the Fringe Earlier yesterday evening I went back for more electrically distorted ukulele with John Robertson: The Human Hurricane. God, he is so much fun!! Every show is so unique as he plays around with the audience, this time there was a chap with a melodica, he kind of, em, tried to menace John with it?! Of course, it was taken up on stage where John attempted to play it and his ukulele at the same time. See, if Laughing Horse @ The Counting House continued until the final Monday, The Human Hurricane would be a great show to end my Fringe. Click Here

August 28, 2024 Edinburgh Inquirer However, it’s an hour of joyful, deliciously wild, crowd work you seek, then look no further than John Robertson and ‘The Human Hurricane’ at Laughing Horse@The Counting House. John, best known as the host of the internationally-acclaimed ‘The Dark Room’ is a master of improvised comedy. Armed with his wits, and a grungy ukulele, he takes aim at the audience and…builds them up. That’s right: this is empowering, raucous, and carefree comedy of the first order. It’s tough love though, amongst his songs is a banger called ‘Anime C**t’ - if that sounds reasonable to you, don’t miss John. Click Here

August 19, 2024  One4Review I’ve been to a number of John Robertson’s shows over the years, and I’ve always really enjoyed them, though mindful in reviews that even amongst the ‘offbeat’, ‘quirky’ and ‘alternative’ shows, John’s were never going to be mainstream, or for everyone. But he’s built a following, and it’s been fun being part of an ever increasing audience of aficionados. Despite the fact that the shows were good, it always felt a little bit like a sculpture in progress: there was a well-formed bit of an arm or a foot revealed by every show, but the dazzling brilliance of the final form was never quite clear, still obscured in the stone. Which brings us to this show, in which a (very) loud platinum-blonde man yells insults at individual members of the audience and appropriates them for improv, interspersed with ukulele songs, climbing the walls, poetry, and other nonsense. It’s exactly what we’re here for. John, like most performers, really wants to be liked, but he also has genuine affection and respect for his audience. It just so happens that his affection is expressed in very specific and tailored insults and so it is a delightful and joyful confluence that the audience are (mostly) here to be insulted. The show is built from crowd work, taking a mere technique and elevating it to an art. The insults never cross the line into offense, and often the interactions develop into longer and recurring bits of greater hilarity than some scripted shows. John revels in connecting with the audience – he spends as much time off of the stage as on it – and even the on-stage parts have refrains for us to sing along to and be part of the show. The show ended with a poem (which I hope he publishes somewhere) and a standing ovation which he looked genuinely touched and surprised about: an audience reflecting back his affection and respect, and celebrating a brilliant, finally revealed, work of art. Click Here

August 19, 2024  Chortle 3.5 stars With his booming, bombastic delivery and aggressive friendliness, John Robertson conveys a real force-of-nature energy, so it makes sense that he's now styling himself as The Human Hurricane. He rips around his sizeable room for extended bouts of audience interaction. It's a big space and he suffers from occasionally being miles away from your vantage point, so you can't always see the object of his loud but affectionate derision. That's no great matter, though, as the Australian's sheer volume precludes the need for a microphone, and he's in perpetual motion, simply moving onto another target if the conversation or his inspiration threatens to dry up. There's an intimidating aspect to it, sure, and all but the bravest dip their eyes when he ventures into their vicinity. Yet if he characterises his crowd as losers and perverts, freaks and deviants, well it's a group the black-clad comic is delighted to lead, strutting about and looming above them like David Bowie's Goblin King in Labyrinth. Evidence of sub-cultures on T-shirts and physical similarities to fictional characters delight him. And he establishes running, criss-crossing relationships and narratives that he keeps returning to even as he shifts from improvisation into his prep-prepared poems and punk tunes on the ukulele. ... Click Here

August 8, 2024  Edinburgh Reviews Walking in, John’s not hiding in the back like a diva until everyone’s seated and waiting patiently for his performance; he’s right there and raring to go. He then starts the show as he means to go on, with frenzied ukulele playing, gags, audience interactions/slagging, endless wit, and just sayin’ it like it is. For around 45 minutes, we’re treated to a few unique and original songs performed on the ukulele, as well as a couple of bits of spoken word. John made it clear that the songs aren’t actually the same every night, likely due to his undiagnosed ADHD. But I enjoyed the ones I did hear! Some of the highlights for me included Anime C*nt, Shut Up You Tiny Fool (on a side note, it warms my heart to see all the many acts hating on JK Rowling this year), and Meow Meow Meow (door humour seemed to be a theme tonight – but I highly suspect that particular theme was a one-night only thing). John also did a bit of middle-class crowd surfing (you really have to be there to understand what that is), made his way to the back of the room and climbed up to a high spot he’d never been up to before, decided he liked it better there, and then upper-class crowd surfed his way back to us in the front. One thing you won’t appreciate until you’ve seen John in action is just how comfortable he is in front of a crowd (after years of The Dark Room, he’d have to be), how easily and naturally he can read a room, and how he can zero in on various individuals in a way that always leads to belly laughs – and that you can never really fault him on. He’s never truly mean; it’s always kind spirited and a fun time. The performance finished on a high note, with really quite a powerful, uplifting piece of spoken word, which I also really enjoyed and again, brings the chaotic good John is best known for. You can’t help but be on John’s side for the entire performance, and you leave feeling energised because his energy is just that infectious. As for John, he’s taking photos, selling hats, and then racing off to his next show, The Dark Room, which starts in about 20 minutes! What is he, the Energiser Bunny? Overall I had a great time at The Human Hurricane, but then, I knew I would. I also left feeling curious about the song John didn’t play tonight; the one that Glenn Wool gave him a weird look for practicing before the show. Who knows, maybe I need to go back to hear it. If you want to experience the force of nature that is The Human Hurricane, don’t hesitate to get along to The Counting House and experience the legend that is John Robertson for yourself. Highly recommend! Click Here

August 5, 2024  The QR This will be a short review (thank you John – you are a true friend to the reviewer). Best known to Fringe audiences as the legend behind the legendary Dark Room, John Robertson’s ‘The Human Hurricane’ finds him with ukulele in hand and crowdwork on his silver-crowned mind. He’s a force of nature, a grinning jester out to flatter, not puncture with his wild yet curiously accurate observations. This is the ‘oh no, the comedian is looking at me’ show for those with reservations about such things. Also when I say flatter, don’t get the wrong idea…one of John’s strummed bangers is entitled ‘Anime C*nt’. John Robertson honours your given social tribe, but don’t expect kid gloves. “He’s a force of nature, a grinning jester out to flatter, not puncture with his wild yet curiously accurate observations.” Of course, every single show will be different, so reviewing the specifics of my experience on the 1st of August is pretty pointless. Suffice it to say he made gorgeously merry with everyone including yours truly, a 17-year-old kid halfway back, and a chap essentially dressed as Pikachu. No one left unscathed or undelighted by being scathed. Topics included kneecaps, Jason Momoa, bondage, big yacht energy, and John’s questionable competence when it comes to charging pieces of kit. That is to say, whatever came to his mind, filtered through his splendid (and twisted) wit to be regurgitated with ridiculously funny results. One thing that didn’t come to his mind was the slogan printed on the hats he’s brought along as merch. Contextless merchandise is the future judging by the queue to acquire one. So do go and see John. His schtick is deliciously wild, his songs give no f**ks whatsoever, and his twisted heart is made of gold. Please go and dive in – also just sit at the front. John will find and delight you – that sounds creepy, but I’m leaving it – wherever you are. ‘The Human Hurricane’…that’s about right. Click Here

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