Latitude 2006

United Kingdom | | 14 July 2006

On paper, Mean Fiddler's multi-faceted relaxfest looked like it might be too strange a brew for some, but a deft mix of arts, comedy, theatre, cabaret, poetry and music, and the addition of some of the best weather we've seen all summer, made it one long afternoon jolly. All you had to do was make it from one chilled tent to the next to ensure a constant intake of stimulating entertainment.  A variety-fest for the massed middle-classes? Perhaps, but that didn't stop it being a whole lotta fun. Roll on next year...

Read below for an overview, or click on the links for more reviews:
:. Latitude In Music
:. Latitude In Words
:. Latitude In Art 
:. Latitude: The 'Local Perspective'

Latitude, funny name that. As we follow the signs into the site I'm not quite sure what they Mean Fiddler by it. I mean if it turns out to be a hippie-fest, then it could have something to do with leylines. It's not until we step across the wide wooden footbridge into the main site that the other meaning of the word dawns on me. Breadth, scope, variety, call it what you want, but the one, overriding factor of Latitude would seem to be that no one thing is paramount. No real main stage as such, no real centre, scattered clusters of stores and stalls and no definable image. I admire that. I admire it mostly because if there is a star turn at Latitude the place, it's the countryside and in particular, the trees, surely the greatest sculptures any festival could wish for. I mean, there's pretty much nothing you can do to a tree, bar chop it down, to make it look bad and Latitudes astute ground staff sure seem to have made a feature of them. Trees lit from underneath, trees holding lights halfway up, trees with platforms in them for 'from-the-branches' theatre performances. There is even a whole arena situated on the hill, in stunning, dusky woodland where you can retreat from the harsh rays and cool off under the pine canopy while watching a band or two.

The beauty of the setting (I don't want to overstate this, but it is nice here) was something Mean Fiddler obviously wanted to express beforehand, but to their credit, there's no desperation to ostentatiously decorate it as with Secret Garden or the more comparable Bestival. Latitude has largely left the setting alone. Minimal fencing, no garish lights or generators thumping all night and a distinct and refreshing lack of '’festival décor', ok so the obligatory field of white banner flags is here, but mostly a clean and efficient minimalist air prevails. If Latitude could speak, I think it would be quietly explaining how it didn't need tricks or novelties, just decent arenas and decent performers. No mechanical bulls or gyroscopes, no 'sustainable village' or permaculture garden, no corporate bullshit, bar 3 mobile handing out jellybeans in nice tins and maps of the site. 3 also had a little stage of their own. It makes me think, maybe corporate involvement isn't so bad if they actually, give something artistic to the festival. I'm not talking mobile phone charging points or rooms full of freebie bits of plastic and leaflets – I mean a performance space. 3, to their credit, had a decent little crowd most of the time for their little DJ stage, nicely tucked away under another nice tree. Luckily I snapped out of that thought train, reminding myself that 3 only wants the kids to sign phone contracts and would do almost anything, even get creative to help their shadowy cause.

The existence of a decent stretch of water also, gives Latitude an open, arms out-stretched to the sky sort of feeling. There’s room to relax at this festival and it looks as though most people are doing just that. So what’s here, well, in no particular order, theatre, cabaret, poetry, comedy, literature, film and children all have tents or areas devoted to them and there are 3-4 other tents for the tunes. One of them, The Obelisk is monstrous, akin to the dance tent at Glastonbury, while the smaller Lake Stage, featuring lesser known acts hand picked by Radio 1's Huw Stephens is bizarrely the only open air stage. 

I start my Latitude journey in the Cabaret tent after hearing strains of 20’s music coming from within. Two women, backs to the audience are gathering a group for the Charleston, that swinging dance most synonymous with the ‘roaring twenties. Forward, middle, back, middle, dee dee dee dee, left dee dee dee dee. Little by little a short routine takes shape and the group, (all women cos men get shy about these things), are doing the Charleston pretty well. The Cabaret tent is one area that is well decorated. On one side of the stage, a mock up post-war utility kitchenette, on the other a mock-up living room of the same period. It’s a neat space, welcoming and fun. I leave when my concentration is broken by a tall man in a red dress tucking into a takeaway pizza – too much beer and sun? He settles down to watch the action and I slip out the back jack. Back through the site to see Gomez I stop by the Literary stage, a place for writers, musicians and luminaries (they hosted Joe Boyd and Nick Kent earlier in the day) to discuss and read. I catch a few minutes of Chris Neill dryly reading Jodie Marsh’s autobiography. Easy target yes, but funny? Well, yes. Guardian writer and cool dude Will Hodgkinson reads from his well received ‘Guitar Man book and after that Medieval pranksters Circulus take the stage and whitter on beautifully for half an hour. It’s not my remit, but Gomez still rock, by the way.

The following morning I grab a chat with Suzanne Arnold and Charlie Hull, organisers of the Woodcraft folk and the circus tent, respectively, in children’s area. I am heartened to find strong community ethos in the little site designated for the kids and a wonderfully creative and fun atmosphere. All day local volunteers are running workshops and activities for kids and their parents. Charlie’s circus tents have done brisk business in the ‘make your own juggling balls from grain and balloons’ classes and Suzanne’s woodcraft folk have been clay modelling and weaving. Kids and festivals eh, it’s people like Suzanne and Charlie, who give up their time to do these things, that allow parents to have a festival at all – VF salutes you guys.... (click through to next page)