Alice O’Grady — Entering the Realm of Avalon at Whirl-y-Fayre: Myth, Magick & the Micro Festival

Starting out in 1981 in collaboration with the Association of Humanistic Psychology, Whir-y-Gig is London’s longest running night club. With a deep commitment to the principles of transformational dance it has more recently branched out and established itself as one of the best small events in the UK’s festival calendar. Whirl-y-Fayre takes place each summer in the Vale of Avalon, a place deeply imbued with myth and magick and home to Glastonbury Tor in the sacred realm of Avalon. With a capacity of 499 the event is intensely intimate and, by virtue of its size, echoes the micro-festival movement of contemporary theatre which asks important questions about the nature and function of participation, spectatorship and relational aesthetics. Bringing Whirl-y-Fayre to life in pictures, film and story, this paper will explore the significance of site and scale in relation to festival participation and transformative practice.