On Oct 8 (Saturday) we went to Minack Theatre. It's this amazing open-air theatre carved out of stone on a cliffside. It looks really ancient- it reminds me of a small-scale version of the theatre at the sanctuary at Delphi in Greece, that I've studied. But it was actually constructed between the 1930s-1990s!
The land the theatre is on belonged to Rowena Cade, and when a local theatre company she was involved with was looking for a dramatic place to stage The Tempest, she suggested using the cliffs in her backyard. Over the next sixty years (interrupted by WWII), she, with the help of builders and landscapers, but doing much of the physical work herself until her mid-80s, gradually created this theatre.
To get to the theatre, you can take the gently sloping road access, or the very steep barely-stairs that go up the cliff face between the beach below and the theatre. Guess which one we took?!
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| beach below Minack Theatre |
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| the path up to the theatre |
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| view from near the top of the path, looking back down on the beach seen in the earlier photos |
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| Minack Theatre |
Although Shakespeare is a staple for performances here, apparently Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance is also particularly popular, due to the setting in Penzance!
Well, what a mind-boggling place this is - and your photos are absolutely gorgeous too!! Just imagine the work involved with making this structure. How do they ever manage acoustics and sound systems here? I would think the noise from the wind and waves would drown out everything else, but I'm sure somebody has it all sorted out! A neat place for Eire Born to perform, eh? xoxox Grammy M.
ReplyDeleteIt looks so Grecian! Absolutely amazing, can't even imagine what it would be like to see The Tempest performed there!!!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely stunning photos, as always :)
This place is truly jaw-dropping; wow !!! I can hardly believe how gorgeous this must be in real life. And what a story about Rowena Cade; she sounds like quite a lady ! I love your beautiful beach photos too; truly stunning.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your legs got quite a workout last weekend !
XOX
Love, Mom
Hi Hanna,
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely stunning outdoor theater !!! After all that work, they didn't put dowm any plywood for an Irish show. :-(
You are seeing such an interesting side of England!!! I would love to go to a performance in that theatre! "If I had a million dollars" I would hire you as my private tour guide and you could tour me all over Britain. And of course I would invite all your other readers too!
ReplyDeleteUmm..WOW!
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