British Comedy Guide
Mark Steel's In Town. Mark Steel. Copyright: BBC
Mark Steel's In Town

Mark Steel's In Town

  • Radio stand-up
  • BBC Radio 4
  • 2009 - 2024
  • 73 episodes (13 series)

Mark Steel visits a town in Britain and investigates its society & history before performing a bespoke stand-up show for locals.

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Mark Steel's In Town. Mark Steel. Copyright: BBC

Key details

Genre
Stand-Up
Broadcast
2009 - 2024
Channel
BBC Radio 4
Episodes
73 (13 series)
Star
Mark Steel
Writers
Mark Steel and Pete Sinclair
Producers
Julia McKenzie, Sam Bryant, Ed Morrish and Carl Cooper
Company

Comedian Mark Steel visits a selection of different towns from across the UK and delves into their history, people and idiosyncrasies to try to work out what ingredients combine to make the place distinctive.

He creates a bespoke stand-up show for that community and then performs the show in front of a local audience in a celebration of the sort of places in Britain which are generally less visited as tourist attractions. Each has their own fascinating stories to tell with inhabitants who are passionate about what their home has to offer.

Amongst the topics Mark has touched upon so far include the canals of Skipton, a concrete hippo in Walsall, a civil war currently being waged in Penzance, a violent Orkney ball game known as the "Kirkwall Ba", and the Isle of Portland's strong dislike of a certain fluffy animal beginning with the letter "R".

Catch-up

Additional details

Production
Studio
Soundtrack
Theme music is Eat My Goal by Collapsed Lung (Series 1-3); Rock This Town by Stray Cats (Series 4 onwards).

Website links

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Wednesday 18th March 2009 at 6:30pm on BBC Radio 4
Next repeats
  1. Series 2, Episode 3: Friday at 10:30pm on Radio 4 Extra
  2. Series 2, Episode 4: Friday 3rd January at 10:30pm on Radio 4 Extra
  3. Series 2, Episode 5: Friday 10th January at 10:30pm on Radio 4 Extra
Most recent repeats

Recording details

  • Zoom (Virtual) - Series 10
  • Phoenix Theatre (Blyth) - Series 11
  • Brunswick Centre (Whitby) - Series 11
  • Mitchell Arts Centre (Stoke) - Series 13

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