The Minack Theatre

For a suitable Ordnance Survey map of the area please buy OS Explorer 102 - Land's End, or see my map for more details.

The Minack is a cliff-top ampitheatre cut into the granite cliffs of Cornwall at Porthcurno some 4 miles southeast of Land's End - grid ref SW385220. Its creator, Rowena Cade, moved to the area with her widowed mother in the 1920's and set about building a house for themselves from the local St. Levan granite. Always very interested in the works of Shakespeare and 'The Theatre', Rowena began designing costumes for her family and friends, mainly as 'something to do on a summer's evening'. Productions of "A Midsummer's Night Dream" were held in the open air in 1928 and 1929 and received very favourable interest. This set Rowena wondering what plays to produce the following years. She looked around at the rugged cornish coastline and decided the area was just right for a production of Shakespeare's "Tempest". The gully above Minack Rock was utilised as a very rudimentary seating area for the audience and her house doubled as a ticket office. With the help of a couple of local craftsmen over the next couple of years, Rowena managed to build a simple stage and terraced seating so that in the summer of 1932 the first production took place. With the sea as a backdrop and the spectacular cliffs above Porthcurno as frames the 'magic' of the Minack Theatre was born. For information on the Summer Season please look below or send an SAE to: THE MINACK THEATRE, PORTHCURNO, PENZANCE, CORNWALL TR19 6JU For more information Telephone (01736) 811902 or email at: info@minack.com