SW3822 : Minack Theatre - Looking down to the stage
taken 2 years ago, near to St Levan, Cornwall, England
An open air theatre set into a gully in the cliffs above Minack Point, near Porthcurno. It was created over the winter of 1931-2 by Rowena Cade, who lived in nearby Minack House, her gardener, Billy Rawlings, and his assistant, Charles Angove, moving granite boulders and profiling the earth slopes to create terraces for seating. The first performance there was of The Tempest, taking place on 16 August 1932.
Over the years Rowena Cade and her gardeners developed the site further, with the stage built, further terraces added and the surrounds landscaped. Most of the construction was of concrete, built using sand from Porthcurno Beach, and sculpted by Rowena Cade with her own designs.
It was commandeered during the Second World War and fortified to provide protection from a potential invasion using the nearby beaches. After the war it was rebuilt, re-opening in 1951, with a former pillbox serving as the box office until replaced by the current shop and café in 1998.
It now puts on around 20 productions a year, with a seating capacity of around 750.