BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.5//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:10595@artinliverpool.com DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250522T200000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250522T200000 DTSTAMP:20250503T144030Z URL:https://www.artinliverpool.com/events/liverpool-philharmonic-hall-absu rdageddon-armando-iannucci-with-michael-spicer/ SUMMARY:Liverpool Philharmonic: Liverpool Philharmonic Hall: Absurdageddon: Armando Iannucci with Michael Spicer DESCRIPTION:\n\n\nWhen politics feels like parody\, what role does satire h ave left to play?\n\nWoWFEST welcomes Armando Iannucci\, a towering figur e of British storytelling and satire\, to seek answers to the question — can laughter still challenge authority\, expose hypocrisy\, and spark change — or has the joke already worn thin?\n\nArmando Iannucci\, crea tor of iconic TV and film\, including The Thick of It\, Veep\, In the Loo p\, and The Death of Stalin\, has spent decades turning political dysfunc tion into brutal\, brilliant comedy. With a signature blend of intelligen ce and irreverence\, Iannucci has held a mirror to power\, exposing its ab surdities with scalpel-sharp precision. Armando Iannucci will be in conver sation with writer\, comedian\, actor and creator of The Room Next Door\, Michael Spicer. \n\nAlongside plenty of laughter\, there will be a serio us reckoning with the role of comedy within a collapsing political landsc ape. From the rise of populism to the spread of disinformation\, from prot est movements to public apathy\, satire’s evolving role will come under scrutiny: as resistance\, critique\, catharsis\, and maybe even survival. \n\nThis isn’t just for laughs\, it’s a deep\, timely\, dive into the fault lines of truth\, power\, and the stories we tell to make sense of th em.\nArmando Iannucci is a writer\, director\, and broadcaster whose crit ically acclaimed work spans television\, film\, radio\, and stage. In 200 5\, Armando created the BBC series ‘The Thick of It’. The show receiv ed widespread recognition\, earning thirteen BAFTA nominations and five wi ns. The success of the series also led to the 2009 film ‘In the Loop’ \, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.  Armando then went on to create the HBO series ‘Veep’. The show explore d the American political system through the character of Selina Meyer\, wi nning several prestigious awards\, including four Emmy Awards for Outstand ing Comedy Series. In 2017 he published ‘Hear Me Out’\, a new book o n classical music and released the feature film ‘The Death of Stalin ’ which received two BAFTA nominations and won Best Comedy at the Euro pean Film Awards. In 2019\, he directed ‘The Personal History of David C opperfield’\, which won Best Screenplay at both the WGBA and BIFA\, whil e also earning a Golden Globe nomination. Iannucci returned to HBO with ‘Avenue 5’\, a sci-fi comedy about a luxury space cruise ship that goe s off course\, starring Hugh Laurie. The series was nominated for both a G olden Globe and an Emmy. In 2024\, Iannucci adapted Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Dr. Strangelove’ for the stage\, reimagining the film as a live thea trical production. The stage version received acclaim for its bold take on Kubrick’s political satire and marked Iannucci’s return to working wi th Steve Coogan\, with whom he created the character\, Alan Partridge. \n Michael Spicer is a writer\, comedian and actor who rose to fame with a s eries of viral sketches entitled The Room Next Door. The Room Next Door – which depicted a frantic adviser feeding lines into the hidden earpiec es of politicians and public figures taken from real-life interviews – a ccumulated 90 million views (and counting) on social media and has led to a sell-out Edinburgh Fringe show\, a nationwide tour\, a book deal\, a rad io series\, a Writers’ Guild award and several appearances on The Late L ate Show in the US. He has over half a million followers on Twitter\, 200\ ,000 on TikTok and over 200\,000 subscribers on YouTube. Away from The Ro om Next Door\, Michael has appeared as a regular performer on The Mash Rep ort on BBC2\, as well as guest appearing in major TV series such as After Life\, Bridgerton\, Avoidance\, Buffering\, The Sister Boniface Mysteries and Disclaimer directed by Alfonso Cuarón. He has appeared in all three s eries of Mandy on BBC2 playing a variety of roles and was the producer for series two. Michael also appeared in the film My Mother’s Wedding\, wri tten and directed by Kristin Scott Thomas.  Michael’s situation comedy on BBC Radio 4 about life as a viral sensation entitled Before Next Door won two British Comedy Guide awards. He is currently working on a second s eries of his BBC Radio 4 solo sketch show Michael Spicer: No Room.\n\nThis event is presented in partnership by Writing on the Wall and the Liverpoo l Philharmonic Hall.\n\n\n\n\n\nWe encourage people to use public transpor t to travel to events where possible.\n\nPublic Transport:\n\nBus: 75\, 8 0\, 86\n\nNearest bus stop(s): Sugnall Street (Approx. 1 min walk)\n\nNe arest train station(s): Liverpool Central (Approx. 13 min walk)\, Live rpool Lime Street (Approx. 16 min walk)\n\n \;\n\n*These are difficul t times. We know some people may struggle to afford full price tickets. If you would like to attend this event but can’t afford to\, please contac t info@writingonthewall.org.uk. All queries will be treated in confidence.    \n\nBOOKING &\; INFO\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.artinliverpool.com/wp-content/upload s/2025/05/WOWFEST-25-WebHead.jpeg CATEGORIES:Talks LOCATION:Liverpool Philharmonic\, Hope Street\, Liverpool\, L1 9BP\, Liverp ool\, United Kingdom GEO:53.401559;-2.970413 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Hope Street\, Liverpool\, L 1 9BP\, Liverpool\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Liverpool Ph ilharmonic:geo:53.401559,-2.970413 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250330T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR