Symphony Sanders from “Welcome to Night Vale”, One of the World’s Biggest Podcasts, Invites Australians to Witness Its Live “Weirdness”

If you can’t move to Night Vale, Night Vale will move to you.

The hit American podcast Welcome to Night Vale is bringing its live show back to Australia in 2018, following a 21-city tour of the U.S. and Europe.

Though that may seem like a schedule more suited for a superstar singer, it’s not an unreasonable demand for a show that has been downloaded more than 170 million times since its premiere in 2012.

If you haven’t contributed to one of those 170 million downloads, here’s what you need to know: The show is hosted by Cecil Gershwin Palmer (voiced by Cecil Baldwin), citizen of the titular, fictional American town and witness to its strange goings-on (from the hypnotic Glow Cloud that works to enslave the population, to an invasion by supernatural strangers).

When the program comes to Australian stages, it will be bringing with it one of its best-loved characters: child militant Tamika Flynn, voiced by Symphony Sanders.

A voice actor and fitness instructor, Sanders was initially recruited by Baldwin, a college friend, early on for a live show in 2014.

“It was building a lot of steam,” she tells Student Edge.

“I’ve seen it build and build since then.”

“I didn’t realise what I was getting into, really. I knew that it was a show that people liked, but I didn’t realise to what extent.”

The character of Tamika, leader of an army of child soldiers, was gifted, fully-formed, to Sanders.

“The guys have been so great about giving her more than just one side, of being this militia leader,” she says.

“They’ve started kind-of catering it a little bit to me, but I love everything that they write, and I usually have to read it five or six times before I can record it or perform it, because it’s too funny for me, and I just start giggling.”

Sanders credits the million-person-plus cult of Night Vale to its universal weirdness and inclusivity.

“I feel like everyone can relate to feeling outside of something; outside of the norm,” she says.

“A lot of people can really connect with that, and that’s not necessarily an American thing. I think it’s a very universal thing. If you don’t feel like you always belong, Night Vale is the place for you.

“I feel like Night Vale speaks to people who don’t have people that speak for them, or have always felt like they’re weird or they’re different from other people, telling them that, ‘It’s okay, because there’s all these other people that live in Night Vale or whatever who deal with that weirdness every day; who take it as it comes and aren’t deterred by it.”

However, if any of those outsiders are fearful of mixing up their usual solo-listening routine (and, gasp, attending a public performance instead), Sanders promises an enhanced experience.

“When you experience it in the live show venue, it’s hundreds of people—a thousand people—that like the same thing you like, know the same inside jokes that you know,” she says.

“It creates this community; this fun energy, because you’re all together in this one place, and you all are laughing and having a really good time.

“This show is just so exciting and funny and heartwarming that when you leave, you’re gonna feel wonderful and empowered and ready to take on the world, basically.”

Welcome to Night Vale: All Hail comes to The Tivoli in Brisbane on February 3, 2018, The Astor in Perth on February 5, 2018, The Comedy Theatre in Melbourne on February 9, 2018, and the Sydney Opera House on February 11, 2018. You can buy tickets at livenation.com.au.

Photo: Live Nation