SPOTLIGHT ON… The Minack Theatre, Cornwall
Photo credit: Rebecca Wallis
Welcome, Besties, to the second in our series of features on individual theatres! Today, we're taking you all the way down to Cornwall, to the stunning Minack.
Name: The Minack Theatre
Location: Penzance, Cornwall
Number of seats: approximately 750
Year opened: 1932
Located just 4 miles from Land’s End, The Minack Theatre has appeared in a listing of the world’s most spectacular theatres, and that’s not really a surprise when you see it. Built into a rocky granite outcrop jutting out into the sea, the theatre overlooks the beautiful Porthcurno beach and on a clear day, you can see for miles.
The theatre was opened in 1932, after Rowena Cade who lived at Minack Point constructed a terrace with rough seating in her garden, with the help of her gardener Billy Rawlings, where the local village group of players could perform Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
In the following years, over the winter months, Cade and Rawlings worked to improve the theatre. Building into the cliff itself, further stepped seating was added with balconies for audience members and a paved stage complete with steps and archways. The theatre now sits roughly 750, with dressing rooms and storage spaces built in further down the cliffs.
The Minack season runs from Easter to September, with productions going ahead in all weathers (unless deemed unsafe for audience and/or performers). As calculated in 2012, it is believed that some 80,000 people a year visit to see a show, with over 100,000 paying an entrance fee simply to look around the stunning site.
The site is decorated with stone seating in the front few rows, with names of previous productions from over the years carved in, a collection of beautiful well-kept tropical plants and its gorgeous view.
A café (currently being renovated) sits atop the steep site, and there are snacks, drinks, and Cornish ice cream available from two shacks, one located midway down the theatre’s seating levels and another in the car park just before the main entrance.
Over the years, many productions have taken place in this iconic venue, including performances from Cornwall’s Fisherman’s Friends, many a Shakespeare production, hit show Pride and Prejudice (Sort of), Mischief Movie Night, concerts from West End favourites Alistair Brammer and Daniel Boys, and shows from local theatre companies such as Bros Theatre, who have just finished a run of Kipps: A New Half A Sixpence Musical.
Upcoming shows include Measure for Measure and Antigone, which will be performed by students of the Minack Theatre Acting Academy.
To check out the venue further or to book tickets, please click here.
