One of the most downloaded podcasts in the world arrives on the Isle of Wight this summer, and it brings both big laughs and serious intent with it.
The Guilty Feminist, the podcast that has accumulated over 180 million downloads since its launch in 2016, comes to Ventnor Fringe Festival 2026 with a live show built around its bold new initiative, The Road to Gilead Project.
Host Deborah Frances White joins fellow comedians, activists and guests on stage for an event that blends sharp humour with what the project describes as “radical hope.”
A podcast that owns its contradictions
The Guilty Feminist has always built its audience on a refreshingly honest premise – that you don’t have to be a perfect feminist to care deeply about gender equality.
The show examines the noble goals of 21st century feminism alongside the hypocrisies and insecurities that so often get in the way, and that honesty has clearly struck a chord with millions of listeners worldwide.
The Road to Gilead Project pushes that energy in a new direction, aiming to spark connection and action in the face of a shifting political landscape.
Why Gilead, and why now?
The project takes its name from the fictional theocratic state in Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale – a name that carries increasing cultural weight as far-right movements gain ground across the western world.
The live show at Ventnor Fringe invites both the politically committed and the genuinely questioning to sit together and consider how real coalitions for change actually form.
The event promises honest conversation about resisting what the project calls “the slide towards oppression and power abuse,” approached with courage, creativity and – crucially – collective joy.
Come as you are
Audiences can expect a room full of people who, as the project puts it, “believe a better world is possible, even if we sometimes feel like we’re winging it.”
That spirit of imperfect but determined action sits at the heart of everything The Guilty Feminist does, and this Ventnor Fringe appearance looks set to deliver exactly that atmosphere – funny, defiant and genuinely alive.
Book your tickets now
The Guilty Feminist x The Road to Gilead Project – with Deborah Frances-White takes place at Ventnor Exchange Arena at Flowersbrook on Saturday 18th July at 6pm.
General admission tickets start from £10, with Culture Pass tickets also available at £10 and group discounts on offer for parties of ten or more 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.
The Road to Gilead Project takes to the stage at Ventnor Fringe Festival 2026 as part of what promises to be another unmissable summer programme for the Island.
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