Access All AreasGlastonbury Festival presented another mixture of music, performance, entertainment and culture from around the globe showcased last weekend (24-28 June).
Fineline Lighting resumed their working relationship with the festival, which has now stretched over a period of at least 24 years. They supplied lighting for the Acoustic Stage, Astrolabe Theatre, Cabaret and Circus venues and also the WOW stage in the Silver Hays dance area featuring underground DJs.
Rob Sangwell, managing director, said: “I have seen many changes over the years, all for the better. The excellent line-ups plus the clamour to perform and be part of the community makes it even more special.”
Acoustic Stage
Stage lighting for this stage was designed by Sangwell and Fineline site crew chief Stuart England, based on three trusses (measured at 9.5 meters) across the 40 x 22-foot ground support system also fitted, which provided the acoustic environment for a line-up of artists to display their talents in.
This was set up with 10 bars of PAR 64s and some ACLs, together with Martin MAC Quantum Spots on drop bars on the two hind trusses. Quantum Wash moving lights on the middle truss were used to make the general stage washes, while MAC 101s on the back truss served as tab ‘warmers’, which aesthetically brought out the drapes previously fitted. On the mid truss, MAC Aura XBs and XB Plus’s provided the beam work and rear key lighting, supported by Robe LEDBeam 100s for lighting effects.
Astrolabe Theatre
Lighting in the Astrolabe Theatre was led by Hal Himsworth, with a line-up of artists set to perform ranging from dance to physical theatre.
A large quantity of trussing was rigged in the roof to allow for an accessible theatre grid; and most of the base washes were formed using static LED wash lights. An Avo Pearl Expert with a Wing worked the lights, with Avolites dimming throughout. The rig included all the performer specification, together with specials and extras as required, and also included about 80 fresnels, profiles, floods and PARs which were developed and re-assembled between acts.
Circus
Another line-up saw a number of aerial artists ranging with performances from hoop to acrobatic acts. Initially, the plan was to make the site in the round, so lighting had to fill 12-metres of headroom and a 3D space of about 8sqm.
Supplementary lights were on the floor and fitted to the tent king poles and flown trusses hung from the king poles and cupola. A mix of Robe 600E Spots and Chauvet Rogue R2 wash lights on the deck were combined with LED battens serving as knee kickers. These were joined by a selection of generics – PARs, profiles and fresnels.
All the shows were rehearsed, pre-programmed and cue-stacked, so everything progressed smoothly throughout, with an Avo Sapphire Touch console and Avolites dimming.
Cabaret
In the Cabaret tent, fixtures were rigged on a 4 x 2-metre box truss built around the king pole to give front of house and audience positions, and on two trusses over the stage, with two vertical trusses on the downstage edge for booms.
Fixtures compromised about 60 PARs, 20 Source Four profiles for gobo projections plus fresnels. The moving lights were 10 x Chauvet Rogue R2 Beams and eight Rogue R2 washes. The custom paper globe lanterns lit with LED rods, which were hung all over the space, added depth and visual scenery to the otherwise black void above the audience. A bespoke mirror ball installation also hung at the rear of the stage.
Wow Stage
The Wow Stage lighting was designed by James “Chimpy” Harrington, one of the creative mainstays of Motion, a nightclub in Bristol.
He used a variety of kit including 10 x Chauvet R2 beams, six Robe LEDBeam 100s, eight 2-lites, Atomic strobes and Chauvet Nexus 7×7 panels, PARs and ACLs and also lit the exterior of HMS Wow with PARs and MBIs and ensured the funnel billowed with smoke.
Sangwell commented: “We all love working on Glastonbury and imbibing the spirit of the festival, and are very proud of our history with the event.”