A new theatrical production at Ventnor Fringe Festival this year poses a startling question: could Ventnor hold the key to understanding modern Russia?
On Holiday With Herzen: A Postcard From Ventnor traces a thread from this quiet Victorian seaside town all the way to the turbulent forces that shaped a nation.
A novel born on the Island
Creators Bob Prophette and Jonas Golland draw on Ivan Turgenev’s celebrated novel Fathers and Sons – a book Turgenev wrote right here in Ventnor during the 19th century.
They bring its characters to vivid life, using them to enact pivotal moments in Russian intellectual history.
A show full of surprises
The production blends carefully selected period music, evocative masked monologues, and striking video projections.
A live duel and an unexpected song about Prince Albert add further colour to what promises to be a distinctive event.
Prophette and Golland handle the material with dry humour and a distinctly peaceful message, educating their audience while keeping them thoroughly entertained.
The man at the heart of it all
At the centre of the production stands Alexander Herzen – philosopher, exile, and founder of the Russian Free Press.
Herzen once ranked among the towering figures of 19th-century European thought, yet most British audiences today would struggle to place him.
Ventnor’s Own on Stage
The cast includes a familiar local face: Tim Cooper, moonlighting from his main role as MAWGIAS, joins Andrew Butcher and a host of specially selected actors on stage.
This show sets out to change that, repositioning Ventnor as a place where ideas capable of shaping a nation once genuinely took root.
More than just history
The production team worked in collaboration with the Heritage Centre in Ventnor to bring the project to fruition.
Together, they have crafted something funny, reflective, and quietly unsettling – a meditation on missed possibilities, intellectual courage, and the fragile paths that history might have taken.
Where and when
On Holiday With Herzen: A Postcard From Ventnor takes place at Ingram’s Yard, Dudley Road, Ventnor on Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th July 2026, at 1pm on both days.
Tickets are £12 each (under 25s £8) and can be purchased via the Ventnor Fringe online Box Office, by calling (01983) 71 67 67 or by popping into Ventnor Exchange, 11 Church Street, Ventnor PO38 1SW.
Suitable for ages 12 and up.
Why not book your ticket now – it may well change the way you think about this town.
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