With the start of Ventnor Fringe Festival just days away, we thought it would be a great time to remind readers of the wide range of shows taking place over the next two weeks.
Ventnor Fringe takes place from Friday 22nd to Sunday 31st July in a variety of venues around the town. Here’s a small selection of what’s on offer.
Charlie Dore and Julian Littman bring eclectic, contemporary folk
At St Catherine’s Church on Friday 22nd July between 7.30pm-9.30pm Charlie Dore and long-time collaborator, the multi-instrumental-musician-actor-writer Julian Littman (Steeleye Span) swap guitars, piano, mandolin, harmonium, ukuleles and stories as they share songs from latest double award-winning album ‘Like Animals’ alongside many live favourites.
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Joe Plumb – Born to be the weather wizard
Showing at The Magpie tent in Ventnor Park from 7pm on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd will be Ventnor Fringe Audience Choice Award Winner 2021, Joe Plumb, and his latest offering, Born to be the Weather Wizard.
From childhood memories growing up on the sunny Isle of Wight to his quest to become a local celebrity, join Joe in his hilarious campaign to be as famous as the Weather Wizard at Blackgang Chine.
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M U S I C: A show about art, gods and obsession
Friday 22nd, Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th between 8.30pm and 9.30pm at the Pier Street Playhouse will see a return to the Fringe for HangDog, as they bring us ‘M U S I C’ – a show about art, gods and obsession. Mostly, though, it’s about the music.
HangDog are the all-singing and never-dancing lovechild of the maniac clown Jacob Lovick and Chester’s longest-haired songwriter Jack Toop, who brought their debut show ‘L O V E’ to Ventnor Fringe in 2021 to great acclaim.
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Chris Milner Journeyman – Midnight Wine
On both Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th, Chris Milner Journeyman will be performing his Midnight Wine show at Ventnor Arts Club from 9pm.
Well respected singer / songwriter Chris Milner shares songs (contemporary and traditional), wine and stories from almost 50 years in the great British folk scene touring UK and Europe.
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OnTheWight and The Book Bus present … The Secret to Happiness
On Sunday 24th between 4-5pm come to Ventnor Arts Club and listen to three creative, interesting, funny and intriguing people – all from very different backgrounds – who over the course of a thoroughly entertaining hour will provide you with some helpful nuggets for your noggins that you can use to live happier lives. More than 75 per cent of seats sold, so act fast.
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Patrick Spicer – Who’s this all of a sudden?
On Sunday 24th July 2022 at The Nest, Ventnor Park between 10pm and 11pm, round off the first weekend of the festival by grabbing some friends to see comedian Patrick Spicer perform his latest show, Who’s this all of a sudden?
Work-in-progress debut hour from one of the most exciting acts on the UK comedy circuit and one of the most pathetic cringing worms (as seen on The Mash Report) Patrick Spicer will be recounting his deepest fears and humiliations in a funny and credible way (nominated for both Chortle Best Newcomer and Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year).
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Vaguely Sunny presents Pippa Reid-Foster and Eva Alkula
On Thursday 28th June from 8pm-9.45pm, Pippa Reid-Foster and Eva Alkula will be performing at St Catherine’s Church, Ventnor.
Coming direct to Ventnor Fringe from the World Harp Congress in Cardiff, Pippa Reid-Foster and Eva Alkula perform their show ‘Metamorhosis’ which explores the sound of two string instruments – the Scottish harp and the Finnish kantele (which has a bell-like sound) – in a concert of exquisite minimalism which will focus on pressing issues affecting our climate and the beautiful world we live.
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Elizabeth and Jameson
On Friday 29th between 7pm and 8pm at Ventnor Arts Club get ready for some stunning indie-folk sounds from Elizabeth and Jameson.
Hannah Elizabeth and Griff Jameson have joined forces to create a stunning indie-folk sound which encompasses both their individual musical backgrounds of traditional folk and folk pop/rock.
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Vaguely Sunny presents Nina Ross
On Friday 29th July at St Catherine’s Church between 8pm and 9.45pm enjoy a pared down relaxed approach as Isle of Wight jazz singer, Nina Ross, delivers a set of known and less well-known songs from the American songbook.
Look forward to tracks such as Round Midnight, Nature Boy and I’m A Fool to Want You, along with a jazz approach to contemporary songs by Portishead, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell and Plastic Mermaids.
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Stonecrabs Theatre perform Utter Mess!
If you enjoy theatre, live music, clowning and magic, then UtterMess!, being performed at Pier Street Playhouse on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th July 2022 between 8.30pm and 9.30pm each night, will be right up your street.
From the company behind Ventnor Fringe Festival‘s 2019’s ★★★★★ The Trial, in search for meaning and connection, a company of artists end up in Tokyo’s Museum of Lost Things, a curious place where nothing is remembered forever.
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EarsPeeled present A Day @ the Fringe
On Saturday 30th July, Isle of Wight music promoters, EarsPeeled, are proudly joining forces with Ventnor Fringe Festival, to serve up a day of exciting, beautiful and transformative live music for a festival within a festival.
Among those confirmed are Isle of Wight favourites, Plastic Mermaids and Coach Party. There’ll also be performances from Cheap Teeth, Froglands PK, Beth Brookfield and Wild Front (who are signed to John Giddings’ Solo Music agency and are attracting millions of streams).
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The Hippie Shakes
On Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st from 7pm, head to the The Magpie Tent for The Hippie Shakes, a one-woman show which combines storytelling, dark humour and live music to tell a truly incredible story.
The Hippie Shakes is a new piece of gig theatre set in the turbulent 1960s and 70s by award-winning playwright and director, Frankie Regalia. It is a distinctly female journey of motherhood, survival, extreme poverty, bereavement, and inter-generational cycles of abuse.
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‘Cameron and Christie’
On Sunday 31st between 7pm and 8pm, ‘Cameron and Christie’ will be performing at Ventnor Arts Club. Having performed a number times individually at the Ventnor Fringe to sell-out audiences, this year Thomas and Mike join forces to create ‘Cameron and Christie’.
Featuring songs from West End and Broadway, including Les Misérables and Phantom of the Opera, and classics such as Moon River, Some Enchanted Evening and Ol’ Man River. Combining their spine-tingling tenor and bass-baritone voices to create stunning harmonies, it promises to be a spectacular musical evening.
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CURIOS art show
Taking place every day throughout Ventnor Fringe Festival, art_house_life @35 Madeira Road present CURIOS, their largest contemporary art show to date.
CURIOS features recent work from eleven local, national and international artists who produce mixed media and interactions that are enquiring and unpredictable. Entry is free but you need to book in advance.
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Find out more
Ventnor Fringe Festival takes place between 22nd – 31st July 2022. Check the Ventnor Fringe Website for full programme details.
You can book tickets online or by calling into Ventnor Exchange, 11 Church Street, Ventnor PO38 1SW.
Image: Main Fringe image © Julian Winslow
