Daniel Oldaker, aka DANDYMAN! is an award-winning physical comedian and circus maestro from Australia who arrives at Worthy Farm next week to make his Glastonbury Festival debut in the Theatre & Circus fields.
We caught up with him to find out what it’s like to be performing at the festival, his plans for the shows and how he plans to experience the festival himself.
Q&A with Daniel Oldaker
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I tour the world performing circus/comedy shows from TV variety shows to street theatre in far-flung places like Estonia, Brazil, Slovakia and 30 other countries.
How did you get into live performance?
My Grandfather performed magic for me as a kid and that feeling of wonder ignited a wish to present fun and spontaneous moments for other people, and so I did a little magic shows that led to dance shows then acrobatic/juggling shows, to an Australian TV variety show, corporate gigs, children’s parties and now exclusively outdoor street theatre festivals and live Variety shows and TV variety shows.
What’s it like to be performing at this year’s Glastonbury Festival
Incredible, [it’s my] first time performing there and [I’m] very excited by the scale of it – to be a part of the action and create magical moments of spontaneous fanciful fun.
What can you tell us about your plans for the shows?
Every show is different and creates a sense of “this show was just for us feeling.” Improvisation is a big part of the shows so the audience really feel a sense of space and time within the gargling giddiness of circus and comedy capers.
How do you approach performing at a festival like this?
Making sure I pace myself to get through the vigorous workload and no drinky drinky, or anything elsy elsy to stay focused and do the best shows I can.
Will you be checking out any other acts across the weekend?
Of course – and haven’t checked the program because I generally organically weave through festivals giving in to space and time meandering and melting into the moments.
