MidnightÂ’s Carnival

GlastonburyÂ’s post-apocalyptic Victoriana theme park where vintage fairground meets punk rock and burlesque dancers intermingle with seductive freaks.

Glastonbury Festival, famous for rock and mud will feature a brand new addition in 2005: an enchanting new area called MidnightÂ’s Carnival. ItÂ’s set to make festival history by becoming the first ever field to be curated solely by women. Open from dusk till dawn, highlights include: CarneskyÂ’s Ghost Train loaded with ghoulish beauties; the CanBootyCan showgirls; the Pretty Freaky all-female burlesque freakshow, and the mind-blowing exhibition of warped sculptures from the renegade-punk-rock Glastonbury legends, the Mutoid Waste Company.

Midnight’s carnival will be situated in the outdoor circus fields next to the main drag and will combine the best of a Dickensian style fairground with the wonder of an old European carnival. It’s the result of a collaboration between three women of unlimited imagination: Arabella Churchill, the grand-daughter of Winston and founding member of the performance art side of Glastonbury, Ruth “Tutti Frutti”, up and coming performance artiste and creator of the Pyrettes show of Glastonbury 2004 in association with the Mutoid Waste Co. and Marisa Carnesky of the fantastical Ghost Train and the award winning Duckie cabaret show.

Arabella says: “With two of the UK’s most talented performing artistes at the helm of Midnight’s Carnival, its going to be an unforgettable experience! Where else but Glastonbury could you expect to be entertained throughout the night by a troupe of beguiling women, beautiful burlesque dancers and grotesque freaks!”

MidnightÂ’s Carnival is a very interactive area making it more appealing for festival goers looking for some mischievous night-time amusement. DonÂ’t miss:
- CarneskyÂ’s Ghost Train, a fully operational fairground ride with a series of dark tunnels and cavernous chambers where ghoulish beauties enact surreal vignettes that explore images of disappearing women and never ending journeys.
- CanBootyCan, a flamboyant dance troupe whose anarchic spin on the traditional French Cancan will be performed nightly on their custom built pirate ship which resembles a giant shark. Dubbed the ‘Pyrette ship’, the stage will also be host to a wide range of music and performance throughout the night.
- Pretty Freaky, a twice nightly event which sees the CanBootyCan girls undergo a dramatic metamorphosis by donning outfits created by the Mutoid Waste Company, transforming them into living sculptures that will seduce and horrify all who clap eyes on them!
- The Mutoid Waste Company presents Joe RushÂ’s Unnatural History Museum with guest artist Sam HaggartysÂ’ fibre glass sculptures. Joe is responsible for a series of post-apocalyptic mutated animals made from crushed cars and planes whilst Sam has built carriages and circus rides with gothic skulls and fiberglass heads that resemble something out of a 2000AD comic. Both are Glastonbury veterans and have cult reputations after having hosted successful events around the world for the past ten years earning plaudits from the global press and British art establishment.
- The Gin Palace, the areaÂ’s official cabaret tent and bar, themed around a Victorian den of iniquity. With itÂ’s stylish shabby splendour, hobsssnky-tonk piano, dusty chandeliers and hosted by CanBootyCan itÂ’ll be the haunt of off-duty CarneskyÂ’s ghosts and beautiful freaks

And it doesnÂ’t stop there; Midnight Carnival will also feature a whole range of curiosities to transfix festival goers throughout the early hours. Carnival-esque barkers invite you to roll up to their warped exhibits. You wonÂ’t want to miss:
- Head Spin - a giant wheel with fiberglass heads fixed to the end of each spoke onto which youÂ’re strapped and spun around!
- Cirque Idyllique – Beautiful baroque circus troupe present ‘The Cabaret At The End Of The World’ a show powered by solar, wind and pedal power!
- Burlesque Boutique – Stall selling exquisite costumes and burlesque couture.
- The Invisible Circus – Thought-provoking circus cabaret from the Clown Army just back from Thailand where they worked in some of the areas worst-hit by the Tsunami.
- Absinthe Horseracing – bets on races of tin horses accompanied by races recorded early last century and played on an old gramophone. Winner gets a shot of absinthe!

Marisa Carnesky says: “If Marilyn Manson and Mae West were to come to Glastonbury they’d be hanging out at Midnight’s Carnvial, drinking almond tea with Lilly Langtry and Charles Dickens.”

Ruth Tutti-Frutti says: “Midnight's Carnival is designed to be a nighttime area, full of weird and wonderful freaks and beautiful artful women. We want the whole experience to be dream-like that starts the minute you walk through the gate...an experience that when you wake up in the morning you're not sure if it really happened - which is something that happens a lot anyway at Glastonbury!”

The area is surrounded by festoons of lights and comes to life as the sun goes down! Once you walk through under the giant arch youÂ’ll be entering another world that will change you forever.

Latest Updates