The Scarlet Pimpernel comes to Shanklin Theatre on Thursday 28 May, with Shoreline Productions staging Baroness Orczy's French Revolution adventure on the Steephill Road stage. The story runs on familiar ground: a British aristocrat publicly written off as an idle fop, secretly leading a network of rescues from under the noses of Revolutionary agents in Paris. It is the kind of plot that does not need prior reading and works well for a mixed evening audience.
The evening starts at 7.30pm and is scheduled to finish around 10pm. Tickets are £23 and booking is required, so it is worth reserving a seat before the week of the show rather than banking on availability closer to the date. The theatre is indoors, which removes the usual late May weather gamble from the equation entirely.
Shanklin is a straightforward drive from Sandown or Ventnor, and the Old Village is within easy walking distance of the theatre if you want a meal before curtain up. If you are keeping track of live performance and music events across the island this season, this sits neatly in the late May calendar. For anyone making a full evening of it, Shanklin has the esplanade and the Old Village close by once the show is done.