How YouTuber duo Dan Howell and Phil Lester are reclaiming their relationship with their audience 

British YouTuber duo Dan Howell and Phil Lester stopped by Toronto’s Massey Hall this past Tuesday, Nov. 5 as part of their Terrible Influence tour. 

The comedy tour delves into Howell and Lester’s fifteen-year catalogue of content. In the two-hour spectacle they dispel rumours, poke fun at their audience, and pose the question: were they a terrible influence? 

The answer to that question seemed to come as a resounding “no” from attendees, many of whom have been watching the pair for over a decade, including attendee Riley Burke who travelled from London, Ontario to attend the show. 

“I saw Dan during his solo comedy tour back in 2022, but had never had the chance to see the two together so I really couldn’t miss it,” says Burke. “It was so fun to be able to see creators that I have watched for so long and look up to live and in person – not just through a screen.”

This is the third tour that Howell and Lester have created over the course of their career. They took their first tour – The Amazing Tour is Not on Fire across the world in 2016, and their second – Interactive Introverts – in 2018. The two have been creating content together since 2009, co-hosted a radio show for BBC Radio One in 2012, and have over 12 million subscribers across all their channels. 

The two took a break from co-creating content in 2018 to focus on solo endeavours, a time the two remarked in the show as a creatively liberating, yet confusing time in their career. They made a comeback to their collaborative channel in 2023, and they are back and better than ever – stating that this past year has boasted the highest viewership their channel has seen. 

The tour revolves around the pair’s relationship with their audience; reconnecting with them and reconciling their – potentially parasocial – relationship with them. It also celebrates their audiences’ relationship with each other, and the safe space and community they have created over the years.

“It was one of the most fun shows I’ve been to. I truly felt at home and met so many wonderful and genuinely kind people,” says Alex Girlea, who has been watching the duo since 2012. “It was exciting to finally see some of my favourite content creators on tour, and to share the experience with people just like me! I never really had the chance to be in a room full of fans like myself, in the sense that I immediately felt at ease seeing all the people around me.”

Howell and Lester will be taking their tour across the United States, Australia, and Europe throughout the rest of this year and early 2025.