Open-air theatres · South West England
The Minack Theatre
Cornwall's cliff-carved open-air theatre, hand-built by Rowena Cade from 1929.
Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1 h–2 h
- Wheelchair accessible
About
The Minack at Porthcurno in west Cornwall is the cliff-edge open-air theatre carved out of the granite by Rowena Cade between 1929 and 1944, with seating for 750 above the Atlantic surf. Summer season runs May-September with a programme of Shakespeare and contemporary plays.
Photo gallery
Summary from the official site
The Minack Theatre is an open-air theatre located on the cliffs of Porthcurno Bay in Cornwall. Visitors can explore the theatre and its gardens, learn about its unique history, and enjoy live performances during the season.
Read more on the official property page.
Protected designations
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: Treen Cliff SSSI
- Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Cornwall
Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
The Minack Theatre (Cornish: Gwariva Veynek) is an open-air theatre, constructed above a gully with a rocky granite outcrop jutting into the sea. The theatre is at Porthcurno, four miles (six kilometres) from Land's End in Cornwall, England. The Minack's performing season runs from Easter to the end of October and includes a wide range of music and theatre. Each year, the Minack produces several professional productions as well as hosting visiting companies. It has appeared in many lists of the world's most spectacular theatres.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
The theatre was the brainchild of Rowena Cade, who moved to Cornwall after the First World War, bought land at Minack Point for £100, and built a house there for herself and her mother. Her sister was the feminist dystopian author Katharine Burdekin, who lived with them from the 1920s. In 1929, Rowena Cade became involved with a local village group of players who staged Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in a nearby meadow at Crean, repeating the production the next year. They decided that their next production would be The Tempest and Miss Cade offered her cliff garden as a suitable location for the play. Miss Cade and her gardener, Billy Rawlings, made a terrace and rough seating,…
Visiting
In 1944, the theatre was used as a location for the Gainsborough Studios film Love Story, starring Stewart Granger and Margaret Lockwood, but inclement weather forced them to retreat to a studio mock-up.
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 50.0394, -5.6533
- District
- Cornwall
- Parish
- St. Levan
- Postcode
- TR19 6JT
- Parliamentary constituency
- St Ives
- Phone
- +44 1736 810181
- Established
- 1931
- Opening
- Daily 10am–6pm; last entry at 4:30pm
- Official site
- www.minack.com
Sources
- osm: w841707473 (ODbL)
- wikipedia: Minack Theatre (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: Minack Theatre.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is The Minack Theatre?
- The Minack Theatre is in South-West England, United Kingdom (postcode TR19 6JT), in the parish of St. Levan.
- What is The Minack Theatre?
- Cornwall's cliff-carved open-air theatre, hand-built by Rowena Cade from 1929.
- How do I get to The Minack Theatre?
- Drivers can use postcode TR19 6JT.
- When was The Minack Theatre built?
- Built or established in 1931.
- Who owns The Minack Theatre?
- The Minack Theatre is owned by |capacity =.
- Is The Minack Theatre a protected site?
- Yes — The Minack Theatre is part of the Treen Cliff SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Cornwall National Landscape (AONB).
- How do I get to The Minack Theatre?
- Drivers can navigate to postcode TR19 6JT. It sits within the St Ives parliamentary constituency.