Ventnor and the Isle of Wight will feature on BBC Radio 4 tomorrow (Tuesday 9th January) when the latest edition of ‘Mark Steel Comes to Town’, which was recorded at Ventnor Winter Gardens, is aired at 18:30.
In the continuing series Mark travels around the country visiting towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness. After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for the local residents.
Mark visited Ventnor on 19th September last year and performed for the second time at the Winter Gardens, which was the venue of his first ever gig when he got up and told some jokes in a talent contest on a childhood holiday.
His visit to the Island got off to an interesting start when he first met Islanders…
Mark said:
“This one woman said Ventnor was the best town and said Sandown was a despicable hole. We were in tears. What a start to the show”.
Indeed it was a recurring theme as he played up rivalry between the towns throughout the evening.
Not surprisingly he picked up Ventnor’s pride in its microclimate, subsidence and many other quirks which he gently sent up.
Mark involved the audience too, so you may hear people you know.
