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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Rachael Healy

‘I like to slag off the headliner’: what is it like to do standup at a music festival?

‘It’s so much easier to walk out’ … Sophie Duker.
‘It’s so much easier to walk out’ … Sophie Duker. Photograph: Robbie Jack/Corbis/Getty Images

You’re in a massive tent. People are walking in and out, chatting, spilling drinks. A mishmash of music pounds in the background. The crowd is wildly hungover or laying the foundations for tomorrow’s comedown. Perfect conditions for a comedian, right?

“Some performers wouldn’t touch the festival with a bargepole,” says Charlotte Lang, who manages Glastonbury’s cabaret tent, where she’s been programming acts for a couple of decades. “It’s quite a Marmite thing.” But comedy can be the perfect escape for audiences. “It’s nice to take yourself out of the mayhem,” Lang says. “Bring your cushion, kick back and enjoy.”

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