All hail to Jack and his amazing team for pulling off a great third year of the Ventnor Fringe Festival. It was ambitious, diverse and full of surprises. One of the surprises was our venue, listed as The Secret Bar; we were treated to lovely, capacity audiences and some great performances.

It was a baptism of fire as we only completed on the acquisition of the property one week before, rushed through an event license application and equipped ourselves to serve our guests with cold drinks on some very hot evenings. Air conditioning is a must in the refurb, but for the four nights of the festival, our new fridges kept the beverages cold and our audiences refreshed. Never has a bank vault been put to such good use.

Thanks to everyone that visited us and a massive thanks to the artists who performed. If ever we had any doubt that Ventnor would accept our intentions for this beautiful building they melted away during a magical set by C.H.A.M.P.S. The audience was engaged and eclectic; a mix of young and older creatives, visitors and open minded locals who lapped up what they didn’t know existed so near home. Tula and the Blackgang closed the week and again, a capacity crowd were spellbound with lilting, lyrical gorgeousness from the humour of Hairdo to a haunting cover of Wicked Games. Loved it.

A performance of The Musical Detective Agency proved that we could switch from music to completely ridiculous comedy and hold onto an audience. If the story of a demon hamster who possessed it’s bounty hunter can do it, we feel sure some of the comedians we have in mind are going to do OK.

Now the work begins. Architects have been in and flooring experts gave their horrible verdict that the 1920’s floor is beyond restoration as the Bankers covered it in screed. We have a ceiling to uncover and a whole building to re-purpose. We will install an AV system for film screenings, integrate a PA system so we can support some more great performances, rewire, re-plumb, install a kitchen, build a proper bar (in the vault) and reconfigure the loos. Then it’s many licks of paint, lots of polishing, new lighting and furnishing the space for comfort with sofas and easy chairs.