Feminist icon from Cornwall marks two decades of compèring Glastonbury's Big Top

Actress, writer and activist Rebecca Mordan has shared her excitement ahead of her 20th year performing at Glastonbury Festival as the Big Top's only female compère.

Ms Mordan, who hails from renowned Cornish feminist production hub, Scary Little Girls, is responsible for a slew of successful productions including Queenagers and Duffy Beats the Devil.

She started her journey volunteering in the Big Top offices at the age of 17.

Ms Mordan said: "My fantastic Glasto boss, Jade Dunbar, saw something in me while I was working backstage and told me one year, ‘Oh, you’ll be trying some compèring shifts next year by the way.’

"I was terrified … but she was adamant I could do it – and that was 20 years ago!"

She will be opening the tent this year, introducing acts from all over the world to crowds of over 3,000 people.

The cultural scene in Cornwall has benefitted too from Ms Mordan’s association with Glastonbury.

The relationships she has forged, coupled with support from the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF), means that many performers from Glastonbury have now appeared in Scary Little Girls productions in Cornwall.

Ms Mordan added: "Our SPF funding has allowed us to bring some of those Glastonbury circus performers including Annabelle Holland, now a fellow Big Top compère, who brought her knife-throwing skills to our Mayven; and Charlie Bicknell, who recently performed her Cabaret with Claws show in Falmouth and is an amazing aerialist, incorporating acro-balance, music and comedy into her act".

One of her goals is to inspire female performers in the circus space, providing her career as a beacon and example.

She continued: "I always tell [the girls] that you need to get the microphone.

"Your body can do amazing things, but only for so long – you can be funny forever."

Ms Mordan will be appearing at Glastonbury Festival from June 26-30, 2024.

Her theatre company, Scary Little Girls, has received a £296,200 grant from the UK Government for artistic work until April 2025, as part of the Shared Prosperity Fund's £4.4m investment in cultural events across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.