The Island has long been a source of inspiration for writers; from Dickens to Tennyson, Keats to Carroll. At Ventnor Fringe a new generation are being inspired to create work inspired by these strange lands. Here are five shows to look out for…
From wartime intrigue to folk horror this is our pick for the top shows inspired by Island myths, legends and the people who’ve made it home.
1.) Ozzy Algar: Speed Queen
Friday 18th – Saturday 19th July 2025 /7pm-8pm at Ingrams Yard
A new comedy folk-horror set in the last launderette on the Isle of Wight! In here, Pet the ancient washerwoman divines the fates of her customers through their dirty laundry, and a story unfolds of an island ill-at-ease. A pitch black comedy that weaves the Isle of Wight’s untold myths and hidden histories with folk horror, original music and razor-sharp characters.
For fans of the League of Gentlemen and Cabaret. Original music composed by Tom Penn, lyrics by Ozzy Algar.
2.) Careless Talk
Friday 18th – Sunday 20th July 2025 / 3.30pm-4.30pm at Pier Street Playhouse
The true story of Mabel Bancroft, a woman who ran a hotel on the Isle of Wight and who was arrested for treason in the Second World War.
Was Mabel a collaborator? A visionary? Or just an outsider? Was she the victim of a witch hunt? Or the victim of her own uncompromising nature? Join Mabel on Sandown Beach with her secateurs, sequinned tassels and heartfelt – if misguided – self-belief. By Ali Williams, based on the novel ‘Careless Talk’ by James Friel (shortlisted for the John Llewelyn Rhys Prize).
3.) Barleycorn
Friday 18th – Saturday 19th July 2025 / 5.30pm – 6.30pm at Rotunda
Technically set in the fictional village of Hopley Drew but definitely inspired by places like the Island. Riddlestick Theatre’s new musical is a comedy telling tales of folk intrigue, ‘wyrd’ happenings and inebriated villagers!
It’s been raining all summer. But that’s not going to stop the residents of Hopley Drew gathering in The Barleycorn Inn for their annual village show and one final knees up before the pub closes its doors for good.
As the villagers show off their soggy crops, share songs and tales of local lore, and wait with baited breath for the results of the raffle, a wild storm rages. Some say it’s just typical British weather, but others say it’s something much more sinister… Can this drenched and disenchanted community band together to overcome whatever lurks outside?
A new musical comedy inspired by English lore, folk horror, and ‘wyrd’ 1970s telly, featuring traditional and original folk music and dancing.
4.) Ubu: King of the Isle of Wight
Sunday 20th July / 9.30pm-10.30pm at The Bosco Theatre
Prepare for total theatrical chaos as Horse Box Theatre unleashes a riotous, Isle of Wight-inspired twist on Alfred Jarry’s anarchic masterpiece Ubu Roi.
This delirious, no-holds-barred parody of Macbeth cranks ambition and absurdity to the max, plunging the grotesque and power-hungry Mr & Mrs Ubu into a whirlwind of corruption, carnage, and clumsy coups.
Expect ambition gone awry, belly laughs that bite, and a symphony of sheer madness, all wrapped in a scathing satire of politics that’s as timely as it is utterly ridiculous.
Brace yourselves: this is loud, wild and gleefully unhinged new production.
From the team who brought you the sell-out smash hit, Bob: The Half A Sausage Musical, Born To Be A Weather Wizard and the Ventnor Fringe Audience Choice Award Winning The People’s Republic of the Isle of Wight comes… UBU!
5.) Vicious Vectis
Thursday 24th & Friday 25th July 2025 / 3.30pm – 4.30pm at Pier Street Playhouse
Vicious Vectis is what happens when you give a group of talented young people a stage, and ask them to write a script, compose the music and go nuts. Think Horrible Histories meets the Isle of Wight— facts, jokes, and an unhealthy obsession with silver pineapples.
From King Charles I being really bad at escaping from Carisbrooke Castle (he literally got stuck in a window), to Reverend William Fox—part-time vicar, full-time dinosaur fanatic—every scene is packed with wit, music, and just the right amount of historical nonsense. You’ll meet Ferguson’s Gang, a secret society of posh women who saved buildings with bags of cash and passive-aggressive letters. You’ll witness Newton and Hooke settle their scientific beef the only way that truly matters: with a rap battle. And of course, you’ll follow the curious case of Lucy Lightfoot, the girl who may have travelled through time or just had a really good sense of drama.
Everything you see was written, directed, and performed by young people who should probably be revising for maths but chose instead to bring the past roaring to life—with questionable accents, top-notch tunes, and enough energy to power the hovercraft.
So sit back, laugh loudly, clap wildly, and maybe chuck a few quid in the donation bucket on your way out. We’re The Carisbrooke Cast, this is Vicious Vectis, and history has never been this irreverent—or this much fun.