Review: DAN AND PHIL: TERRIBLE INFLUENCE, London Palladium

“Were Dan and Phil a terrible influence?”

There are two kinds of people in this world - those who are aware of the significance of lions and llamas and those who are not. Those who have inhaled Sharpie fumes putting cat whiskers on their faces and those who have not. Those who know who Dan and Phil are and those who do not.

With three sold-out nights at the London Palladium, one can be certain that the duo have a strong fan base in London. For those unfamiliar, Daniel Howell and Phil Lester have been a presence on YouTube since the late 2000s, each having their own separate channels and then joining forces to create an unforgettable partnership that shot them to Internet stardom. 

In Terrible Influence, Howell and Lester are asking both themselves and the audience an important question - were they a terrible influence on each other? How does one deal with being famous in a way that no one else has ever been before? How are boundaries set between an audience and a YouTuber? What if things start to go wrong? Through a range of stories and some silly bits, the dynamic duo are ready to tell the truth to the world, allowing everyone in the Palladium to “laugh, feel part of a community and make peace with the past . . . before Dan has another breakdown and disappears.” 

Even before the show starts, you can feel the energy of the crowd and easily see their enthusiasm for Dan and Phil. The queue to enter wrapped around the Palladium and some of the merchandise was sold out before the show even began (there was even a pop-up shop in Soho to help with the crowds!). Audience members are in a range of outfits, with some wearing llama hats and drawing cat whiskers on their faces and others in full costume, referencing characters like Sister Daniel (which came from Dan wearing a nun costume for Halloween) and Tabitha Casper (one of their characters from The Sims 4).

The set is made up of giant television screens which begin with the static many of us remember from our childhoods, starting the show by playing a compilation of all of Howell and Lester’s first videos. The first time Howell and Lester appeared on stage, the screams were so loud I felt my ears ringing, and still do today - I wonder if this is what it was like to go to a Beatles concert in the 1960s!

We are welcomed into the “Multiverse of Dan and Phil,” able to watch their past using the screens. Obviously, the YouTubers are aware of the appeal they have and use that to their advantage, getting screams for even the smallest things like saying “gay” and having rainbows appear on the screens behind them. It’s all a bit cheesy but in a fun way that both Howell and Lester are able to poke fun at, especially Howell who flips off audience members several times throughout the show (something that many consider an honour).

As stated in the show, “Dan and Phil do not have mainstream appeal.” Indeed, the duo are fully aware of this and have prepared by doing a five-minute segment that sums up the lore of Dan and Phil, from their first videos on YouTube to the present. They use some delightful dioramas, made by their friends PJ and Sophie, as well as modified Barbie dolls to tell their story, including moments like moving from flat to flat and taking a break from the Internet in what is referred to as the “hiatus” (cue screams from the audience).

In order to answer the question of whether they have truly been a terrible influence, Howell and Lester have several different segments of the show including an exploration of the conspiracies surrounding them, attempts to fit into pop culture (boxing match, anyone?) and even a confessional, where audience members submit confessions that are read out and judged by the pair. 

While most of Terrible Influence appears to be scripted, there are some moments that are more off-the-cuff, particularly when it comes to the audience contributing to the show. During a game show called “Role Model or No-le Model,” the pair imagine what their lives would have been like without YouTube and the audience shouts out one-word responses to fill in the blanks, leading to Dan’s alternate self being described by him as a “Gay-banning, breadstick-f-ing gooner” (and no, I will not be giving context, as I don’t want to give away too many spoilers!).

Towards the end of the show, the pair take a more serious look at their time in the public eye, or, as they describe it, having to “beta-test the trauma of being Internet superstars.” Both Howell and Lester were not out as gay for the majority of their time on the Internet, but that hasn’t stopped people from trying to figure out their sexualities over the past decade. Each of them have a solo moment on stage, during which they make some heartfelt statements to the audience - I particularly admired how they expressed their honest feelings about the hiatus, admitting that it was a difficult time in their lives and that it wasn’t just the fans who were suffering because of a lack of content. 

Terrible Influence ends as previous Dan and Phil tour shows have - with a little bit of song and dance. The pair encourages the audience to get up and dance along with them and there were so many people dancing that the floor beneath my feet was actually shaking, so much so that I was worried the Royal Circle would collapse! 

Dan and Phil: Terrible Influence is a silly yet reflective show that enables Howell and Lester to share their love for their audience while still acknowledging the less-than-positive aspects of parasocial relationships. I look forward to seeing what the two YouTubers come up with next!

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