Glastonbury Festival’s Walkabout acts have been bringing joy to the festival since the 1980s – some of them have appeared at almost every festival – and it’s an amazing sight.
As the Theatre and Circus area organiser Haggis McLeod said, “It’s like walking into a parallel universe – you don’t know what you’ll come across but it will be enchanting or clever, funny or downright ridiculous.”
Many of last year’s favourites return. Here’s what to look out for as you wander through the Theatre & Circus fields.
Walkabouts: Picks of the Weekend
The Giant Seagulls
Go to the beach and it’s difficult to escape the attack of a pesky seagull as you try to finish off your fish and chips. Glastonbury has a larger bird problem in the Giant Seagulls. I say problem, but they are genuinely fantastic and no one is safe.
Read our interview with the Giant Seagulls from Glastonbury Festival 2023
The Ministry of Happy
No one should be unhappy at a festival like this, which is why The Ministry of Happy are obviously a key part of the festival. The Ministry of Happy’s magical mayhem sees them measuring children’s and adults’ heads, asking bizarre questions and providing happy prescriptions. It’s one way to improve your mood.
Anyone for Tennis
Last year, we happened upon the Wimbledon final happening right in the middle of Glebeland, with the one and only Andy Murray – dressed in his Wimbledon whites and with racket in hand – playing on a very, very small version of a tennis court. He may have been an 8-year-old boy playing against an adult woman, but he still won – much to the crowd’s delight. Who might win an unlikely Wimbledon match in Glebeland this year?
The Tea Ladies on Tour
Fancy a cuppa? Tea Ladies on Tour might offer you some tea from the tea trolly while they bring some 1950s comedic charm to the festival fields. With their hair-rollers in, cigarettes dangling precariously from the corner of their mouths, frocked and aproned, these tea ladies ensure the Glastonbury faithful stay hydrated in the sun… if the weather forecast picks up.
The Midwives
Vamos Theatre’s midwives brought wonderful chaos (and the birthing plan you didn’t know your husband needed) to Glastonbury Festival’s Theatre & Circus fields as they coaxed dazed revellers into giving birth or providing them with strange remedies after the long weekend. Another chance to catch them again at this year’s festival.
The Magnificent Kevans
If you’re having a slow day at the festival, why not let the music come to you instead of beating across the fields for your next act? The Magnificent Kevens bring the show to you with fun-filled mobile renditions of classic songs – Just Can’t Get Enough was a highlight for us last year! We thought they were a roving joy.
Laura London & Jake Francis
Laura London is one of the world’s best female sleight-of-hand artists specialising in cards and is also a fabulous close-up magician with a large and varied repertoire. Our review last year described how “her magic is truly baffling.” This year she performs with actor Jake Francis on a Walkabout show.
Read our interview with Laura London from Glastonbury Festival 2023
Glastonbury Festival 2024 takes place from 26 to 30 June
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