Michael Palin may have seen the finest buildings in the world but what will he make of Sheppey Little Theatre when he visits this week? Chris Price reports.

It’s a case of Rio, Hong Kong, New York and finally Sheppey for Michael Palin this week. The broadcaster and writer is taking time out of filming a new BBC travel series on Brazil to host a talk that’s part of Promenade – a festival celebrating the Island’s cultural heritage.

Michael has presented seven travel series for the BBC, taking him to the North and South Poles, the Sahara Desert, the Himalayas and most recently Eastern Europe.

Yet it was in sketches like Argument Clinic, Dead Parrot, The Lumberjack Song and The Spanish Inquisition that Michael made his name as part of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. He also went on to star in films like Monty Python and the Holy Grail A Private Function and won a BAFTA for his role in A Fish Called Wanda.

His talk, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, sees him remember buildings that have made an impression on him, from the enormity of Ceausescu’s Palace in Bucharest to the delicacies of Newar architecture in Kathmandu.

He will be at Sheppey Little Theatre, Sheerness, on Sunday, September 11, but before then there are more than 20 talks, exhibitions and performances saluting the Island’s legacy.

Historian Dan Cruickshank comes to Sheppey fresh from his latest BBC documentary series, The Country House Revealed. On Friday, September 9, he will discuss some of the country’s most beautiful but less well-known country houses, including Shurland Hall, near Eastchurch.

On the same day, two films will be shown at the Blue Town Heritage Centre about the SS Richard Montgomery, a Second World War American Liberty Ship which sank in the Thames Estuary in 1944.

The wreck still has around 1,400 tons of explosives on board and continues to be a major hazard to shipping in the area. An Accident Waiting to Happen, directed by Ken Rowles, and The Doomsday Ship produced by Colin Harvey, will be accompanied by talks from historian David Hughes and eye-witness to the sinking, Alfred Cole.

A talk on architecture will be given by ex-BBC2 Restoration series expert Ptolemy Dean, who is joined by Financial Times architecture and design critic Edwin Heathcote and historian Christopher Woodward. Their discussion on having a sense of place takes place at the Blue Town Heritage Centre on Saturday, September 10.

Dance performances inspired by the architecture of Sheerness take place the same day. Dante’s Paradiso and the language of south Asian classical dance are also inspirations for the shows outside Beachfields, Sheerness, choreographed by Mayuri Boonham with nationally acclaimed dance company Akademi.

Families can also take part in an object trail around Sheerness.

The Promenade Festival runs from Friday, September 9, to Sunday, September 11. Full details atwww.sheppeylittletheatre.org/promenade.html