IN PROFILE
SERIOUS STAGES CELEBRATES 35 YEARS With over three decades of experience in designing, manufacturing and installing stages and demountable structures for a multitude of events, Serious Stages has established itself as a trusted, go-to supplier for some of the biggest - and most high-profile - live productions in the calendar. TPi’s Jacob Waite met the marital driving force behind the established infrastructure provider…
Situated in the quaint cathedral city of Wells in the Mendip district of Somerset, UK, a stone’s throw from Bristol city centre, MDs Steve and Holly Corfield, opened their doors to TPi to celebrate a landmark milestone. Home to the largest stock of stages and roofs in the UK, you could be forgiven for assuming Serious Stages was a huge, potentially faceless operation. The reality? A warm and welcoming, family-orientated company.
which eventually came to be known as Serious Stages. However, it was Michael Eavis [surely the world’s most rock ‘n’ roll farmer] and Glastonbury Festival, which really put us on the map. When we helped install the Pyramid stage [designed by Bill Harkin] in 1981, it really took off, so all the credit goes to him.” A modest view, of course, as Serious Stages has since gone on to prevail as the driving-force of Glastonbury Festival’s main infrastructure. Having grown up in the same farming village, Steve’s relationship with the Eavis family and the festival is tight-knit. Today, Serious Stages installs over 50 structures and stages across the famous site each year, simultaneously carving a reputation as a staple within the largest greenfield festival in the world. He continued: “To begin with, the Glasto stage was an 18m Orbit with a low capacity of six tonnes. When it comes to the festival now, we’re
35 YEARS IN THE MAKING Steve began the story: “In 1984, in conjunction with two colleagues, I purchased Tecta Staging from a chap called Tim Davies, who funnily enough, still works with us to this day,” he proudly recounted. “We ran a company called Outback for a few years before we set up Stage Serious, 90
