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 - 2022
  • 67 episodes (12 series)

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

  • Due to return for Series 13

Episode menu

Series 6, Episode 3 - Shrewsbury

Mark performs from the Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, the politest town in Britain, even if no-one is quite sure how to pronounce it. He looks at some of the best (or worst) looking buildings in the country, a beautiful path that requires a Croatian bouncer, and the roles of famous figures such as Charles Darwin, Clive of India and Percy Thrower.

Further details

In the third programme, Mark visits the Shropshire Town of Shrewsbury, birthplace of Charles Darwin and home to the oldest building in the world to house a McDonalds.

Mark finds Shrewsbury to be a beautiful place with an identity crisis. Once in Wales, but now in England, Shrewsbury is a peaceful town with a bloody history. As one local points out, "We killed Owain Glynd?r outside WH Smith".

An idyllic setting in a loop of the river Severn, with its beautiful public gardens designed by Percy Thrower, patrolled daily by a Croatian nightclub bouncer.

Voted the politest town in Britain, the locals have very little to complain about. Apart from the disagreements over the buildings... and the statues... and the one-way system... and most of all, how to pronounce the name of the place.

Broadcast details

Date
Tuesday 2nd June 2015
Time
6:30pm
Channel
BBC Radio 4
Length
30 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Tuesday 9th June 2015 7:30am Radio 4 Extra
Tuesday 9th June 2015 5:30pm Radio 4 Extra
Tuesday 9th June 2015 10:00pm Radio 4 Extra
Wednesday 10th June 2015 5:30am Radio 4 Extra
Thursday 10th August 2017 6:30pm Radio 4
Thursday 17th August 2017 7:30am Radio 4 Extra
Thursday 17th August 2017 5:30pm Radio 4 Extra
Thursday 17th August 2017 10:00pm Radio 4 Extra
Friday 18th August 2017 5:30am Radio 4 Extra
Saturday 11th May 2019 10:00pm Radio 4 Extra

Cast & crew

Cast
Mark Steel Host / Presenter
Writing team
Mark Steel Writer
Pete Sinclair Writer (Additional Material)
Production team
Carl Cooper Producer

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