Ashleigh Weeks - Production Wigs Supervisor

Ashleigh Weeks has worked at Glyndebourne for 18 years.  One of our Members funded her year-long training, at a time when there weren’t many young wig makers in the industry and it’s something that Ashleigh is extremely grateful for.

In her role, Ashleigh supervises the production wig making team for all shows throughout our Festival and Autumn Seasons. From being a part of discussions with the show costume designers, to finding, buying and sourcing materials and attending fittings for all of our productions, the role is varied!

Photo by Alun Callender

Photo by Tristram Kenton

Only 5 of the wigs are made from human hair and the rest are made from Yak Hair, which  is great for achieving the big styles you see Oberon and Tytania wearing on stage this Autumn Season.

Oberon’s wig weighs in at 115g! It is made using black and white Tail Yak with added silver Lurex thread to give a little sparkle as he moves around on stage.

The head has counter balanced ears and eyes so he feels very life-like as he’s moving around on stage. You can see this working perfectly when Bottom lays his head down on Tytania.

It would have taken a large team of milliners, props, costume and wig makers to create the donkey head. The wig team in 1981 would have had to knot all the lower panels of lace to blend into Bottom’s jacket. Then around the ears, eyes and muzzle the hair would have had to have been punched straight into the face.

Photo by Tristram Kenton

Photo by Richard Hubert Smith

In this production, we get to make the wigs with string instead of human hair. Making wigs from string is interesting as they have to be hand-sewn using old wig-making techniques, which I find really interesting as you’re always having to think carefully about where the strings need to be placed. Seeing the designs brought to life is what really makes my job special!

To come early enough to grab the perfect picnic spot in the sunken garden overlooking the lake!

Photo by Pablo Strong