We all know what a rumour mill the Isle of Wight can be.
In the last few days rumours about the cancellation of the sold-out Pasha Kovalev dance event at Ventnor’s Winter Gardens started to surface. The most serious being that a lighting rig had fallen and hurt someone.
Rumour: “Complete and utter rubbish.”
OnTheWight spoke to Barbara from the Winter Gardens who, when we mentioned the lighting rig, she was definite in her reply, “That’s complete and utter rubbish.”
Certainly the cancellation had happened she said, but that had been down to a piece of missing equipment that was required for the show. The promoter was due to bring all of their own equipment.
She went on to explain that after two hours of discussions, the promoter putting on the Pasha show decided that he’d rather postpone the show than re-work it.
Update: Following the publishing of this article, the promoter of the Pasha event got in touch with OnTheWight on 13 April to dispute the version of events that the Winter Gardens had given. He was at pains to point out that any and all equipment required was brought by him and that his technical director had raised concerns with the venue, requesting safety certificates that weren’t forthcoming at that time. Subsequently, the Pasha event has been rescheduled to take place at Medina Theatre.
None of the audience had entered the hall Barbara told OnTheWight, dispelling the other rumour that everyone had to leave.
Extensive preparation
The owners of the Winter Gardens had gone to quite some effort and expense to prepare for the show, including buying 450 new chairs, laying a new stage floor, carrying out work to the dressing rooms and carpeting backstage.
Happily the event was able to be rearranged quickly for the 26 May – all tickets will be honoured.
Pasha’s Tweet
Unfortunately due to the technical issues at the venue tonight's show in IOW has been rescheduled. Our apologies for the inconvenience.
— Pasha Kovalev (@PashaKovalev) April 5, 2015
