Comedy / Michael Spicer
Viral comic sensation hits the road
Internet sensation, actor, writer and award-winning comedian Michael Spicer has now accumulated over 60 million views for his online sketches under the moniker The Room Next Door, which he desribes as a series featuring “a fictional adviser feeding lines into the earpieces of world leaders”.
Featured on BBC Two’s The Mash Report, he made his first TV appearance in America last year on The Late Late Show with James Corden, published a book – The Secret Political Adviser (October 2020), and with a Radio 4 series currently in the works for summer 2022, he is a man in huge demand.
However, The Room Next Tour represents the first chance audiences have had to see the man live on stage. Spicer’s debut tour comes to the Tobacco Factory’s main theatre on Sunday, November 21, now with an added matinee show on the same day.
is needed now More than ever
Spicer will be talking about the reality of making comedy behind closed doors, reflecting on his success to date, and testing out brand new sketches.
“This tour is going to be a thrilling experience for me, not only because it is the realisation of something I’ve been dreaming about and working towards for years but also because I’ll be outside of my house,” says Spicer in typically wry fashion. “I hope audiences will be equally thrilled about being outside of their houses.”
Beyond the logistics, in sheer performance terms the difference of going from inside, to onstage, is stark. “They are worlds apart,” Spicer reflects. “When I’m doing my sketches in my living room I’m in complete control. I can pick the perfect take and make the perfect cut.
“On stage, you only get one shot. And that’s the most terrifying aspect of doing this live. So far however, the audiences have been so warm and responsive that the terror does tend to subside. Eventually.”
Spicer admits that his superpower as an on stage performer is to wear the protective cloak of his persona. “I’m in a very lucky position in that audiences have come to see me, they’ve come to see the character. He’s an established entity on social media.
“As a comedian, I never had to do those years of touring the comedy circuit, trying to earn the trust of audiences who didn’t know me. Frankly I wouldn’t have had the mental and physical capacity to do it anyway, so I will always be grateful that I could break through online rather than in the comedy clubs. If the comedy circuit was the only route to success you would never have heard of me.”
Michael Spicer: The Room Next Tour is at the Tobacco Factory Theatre on Sunday, November 21 at 8pm, with an extra matinee show now added at 4pm. Tickets are available at www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com.
Main photo: Michael Spicer
Read more: Sara Barron: Enemies Closer
Listen to the latest episode of the Bristol 24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
