When you hold a record for having the biggest selling comedy tour in the world, there must be an added pressure to make sure your latest outing lives up to the past.
Michael McIntyre says his aim for his new stand-up show,
Happy & Glorious is to make "the audience laugh till their faces hurt" in a bid to outdo that previous record-breaking tour of Showtime in 2012 (when he performed to more than 640,000 people).
Michael McIntyre is back on tour with his Happy & Glorious show.
The 39-year-old comedian is currently under way with warm-up sessions ahead of
the UK and Ireland tour, which stops off in most major cities, including at Birmingham's Barclaycard Arena, London's O2 and Manchester Arena, and features comedian Paul Tonkinson as a special guest.
It's been three years since his last stand-up tour due to an immense demand from television producers. He's become a regular face on TV with his BBC1 shows
Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow and
Michael McIntyre Chat Show along with hosting the
Royal Variety Performance and appearing as a judge on
Britain's Got Talent.
He explains he is not short of material for the tour, however, as he takes comedy from the every day moments around him.
McIntyre, who lives with his wife Kitty and two young sons, explains: "As always, I'll be talking about my children. They're in my life, and they'll always be in my jokes. You look at the things in my life, and they'll be my material. Holidays, hotels, motorway services – that's my life. Anything is ripe for comedy.
"I've bought a house in the country that has given me twenty minutes of material. It was a fantasy of mine to have an idyllic place in the rolling hills.
"When I flush the loo in London, I don't for a moment think about the plumbing. It just happens. But it turns out that idyllic houses in the middle of nowhere don't have plumbing. They have septic tanks that you have to empty once a year. They don't highlight that in the estate agents' brochures. People always say, 'the previous owners left all their crap behind.' Well, I'm literally in that situation!"
Comedian Michael McIntyre in action on stage
Like father, like son, McIntyre has followed in the footsteps of his comedy writer father Ray Cameron, who wrote sketches for the Kenny Everett Television Show.
He's now eclipsed his father's fame with worldwide attention. The comedian played to sold out arenas in South Africa, Dubai, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore in 2013. His show in Johannesburg was the largest ever comedy show in Africa and his Dubai shows won the Time Out Best Night Out Award.
McIntyre seems to be chomping at the bit to get back out to live audiences and says: "I can't wait to be playing once again to a big room that is really enjoying the show. I'm looking forward to thinking, 'If you're loving that, wait till you hear this!'
"I'm bringing everything to this show – voices, physical comedy, the works. That way, I can really paint pictures on stage. If it's genuinely working, you hit sections that are very funny and the audience just lap it up. I now know that every time I reach a certain bit, they'll applaud. My job is to get the whole show to that level. I'm so excited about it!"
Michael McIntyre - Happy & Glorious UK & Ireland Tour
Tickets cost from £39. Visit www.michaelmcintyre.co.uk for booking details.
August 7 - 15, 2015 - PLYMOUTH - PAVILIONS
August 19 - 22, 2015 - BOURNEMOUTH - BIC
August 27 - 30, 2015 - BRIGHTON - CENTRE
September 2 - 6, 2015- CARDIFF - MOTORPOINT ARENA
September 10 - 12, 2015 - NOTTINGHAM - CAPITAL FM ARENA
September 18 - 19 and September 25 - 26, 2015 - BIRMINGHAM - THE BARCLAYCARD ARENA
October 1 - 4 and October 8 - 10, 2015 - LONDON - THE O2
October 16 - 17, 2015 - SHEFFIELD - MOTORPOINT ARENA
October 22 - 24, 2015 - LONDON - THE SSE ARENA WEMBLEY
October 29 - 31, 2015 - MANCHESTER - ARENA
November 6 - 7, 2015 - DUBLIN - O2
November 13 - 14, 2015 - BELFAST - ODYSSEY ARENA
November 19 - 21, 2015 - GLASGOW - THE SSE HYDRO
November 24 - 25, 2015 - ABERDEEN - GE GAS & OIL ARENA
November 27 - 28, 2015 - NEWCASTLE - METRO RADIO ARENA
December 4 - 5, 2015 - LIVERPOOL - ECHO ARENA
December 10 - 11, 2015 - LEEDS - FIRST DIRECT ARENA
