Levelling the Field
Levelling The Field (LTF) is a visionary festival trainee programme and roster database for the d/Deaf and Disabled community.
LTF offers paid career development opportunities, live festival experience (stage management, artist liaison, event production), wrap-around pastoral care, 1:1 mentoring and British Sign Language training to four trainees.
By placing the voice of d/Deaf and Disabled backstage talent at the centre of the initiative, LTF aims to boldly reflect back to Glastonbury Festival, and the sector as a whole, the true goals needed for levelling up and accessibility.
A series of talks and micro-initiatives addressing themes, such as, the barriers facing this community, aim to deepen the impact of the project and will include a Temple Uprising talk on the afternoon of Friday 27th June at The Common.
In addition the 2025 programme expands to Glastonbury Festival’s iconic West Holts stage with a research partnership exploring accessibility and festival production, alongside career development opportunities for LTF 2024 alumni.“By bringing us on board not only have we been able to…work and have a good time, we’ve been able to actually say, ‘That over there, that’s not accessible…that vocabulary isn’t quite right,’ and that’s the kind of thing that only people with disabilities, only we can tell you that. Only we have that understanding.”
– Freya Pretty, production trainee 2024
LTF is delivered by youth development experts Lyrix Organix, hosted by The Common Glastonbury and based at the venue, Rum Shack. LTF 2025 is funded and supported by Glastonbury Festival’s EDI programme.
A dedicated team of festival producers, youth workers, mental health experts and mentors at Rum Shack and The Common support the delivery of Levelling The Field alongside the area production team.
Aims and Objectives
The key objective is to increase the number of disabled people participating in backstage roles in the festival and live event industry.
Aims 2025:
- Train up to four festival production trainees at Rum Shack.
- Improve accessibility at The Common, South East Corner and West Holts.
- Build a roster of festival producers and create opportunities at multiple festivals and events.
Lyrix Organix
Lyrix Organix is a creative agency specialising in youth and creative education with marginalised communities. Their portfolio of clients include Youth Music, Royal Albert Hall, Roundhouse, Cambridge Junction and Transport for London. Lyrix Organix manages and programmes the Rum Shack at The Common – in the late night ‘South East Corner’ of Glastonbury Festival.