Room 1219
★★★★☆ Sympathetic
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall (Venue 53): Mon 17 – Sat 22 Aug 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
Room 1219, from Keystone Theatricals at theSpace @ Surgeons Hall for the middle week of the Fringe, is a reclamation of a Hollywood icon, carefully presented and gracefully acted.
The title refers to the room at San Francisco’s Hotel St Francis which was central to the scandal that brought down a legend. Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle was the man who turned slapstick into a licence to print money in silent-movie Hollywood, but an accusation of murder ruined him.
Douglas Arbuckle gets into character. Pic: Room 1219.
This isn’t a spoiler; it’s laid out at the start of the play. It’s also pretty well-known, but generally from misremembered half-truths and twisted facts. James Beyer’s script moves the spotlight on to the real Roscoe, showing how a cruel upbringing and loneliness shaped the man.
It’s a sympathetic and layered portrait, given life by the serendipitously named Douglas Arbuckle, who is engaging, with a beautiful rhythm, pace and variety of volume and tone. It is a tremendously controlled performance, which perhaps means that Roscoe’s expansively light-footed style is never fully evoked, but the narrative gains immensely in terms of storytelling.
Alan Borthwick’s direction has a tremendous clarity. David Lyle’s music adds greatly to the production, which also benefits from Simon Boothroyd’s sympathetic sound and lighting.
In what is a short play, the story of Roscoe’s early years can come across as a little formulaic and hurried. Furthermore, anchoring the play so closely to just after Arbuckle’s (third and final) trial does mean that what came after to the man and his reputation, while discussed, is perhaps not as fully explored as it might be.
Running time: 40 minutes (no interval).
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall (Hepburn Theatre), Nicolson St, EH8 9DW. (Venue 53).
Monday 17 – Saturday 22 August 2026.
Daily: 5.20pm.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Tickets direct from venue: Book here.
Facebook: @Room1219EdinburghFringe
Instagram: @room_1219
The set for Room 1219. Pic: Room 1219.
ENDS
