One of the places we were looking forward to visiting on our Cornish holiday this year is the absolutely wonderful Minack Theatre. The Minack is an open air theater carved into the granite cliffs of Porthcurno in Cornwall, with breathtakingly stunning views of the Atlantic ocean. And to complement its gorgeous views are its equally gorgeous succulent garden with many exotic plants thriving in the exposed yet mild coastal location.Have I mentioned enough positive adjectives already regarding this theatre? I don't think so, for this place truly deserves all the wonderful words you can throw at it.
We have visited several times before and the excitement of seeing this place again never diminishes. Whether our visit may be on a sunny and warm day, or a cool and damp one the beauty of this place, just like my personal sense of excitement doesn't diminish either. A truly special, world famous place and so I'll let the photos do most of the talking!
The opera that was on that night, Cavalleria Rusticana sounded really appealing so we decided to buy tickets. The planting in front of the ticket office was fantastic and is just a preview of even better things to come as you towards the theater itself.
Even the views at the car park are stunning!
Walking towards the main theatre, you can see beautiful things ahead...
There is a garden just before you enter the theater itself and is planted with various succulents and other wind tolerant exotic plants. Because of its mild location (and in this case exposure helps as frosts are very rare on coastal areas) there are several half hardy exotics thriving in the garden, the most notable of which is the silver tree, Leucadendron argenteum.
Leucadendron argenteum
A Yucca filifera in the middle with several Echiums in bloom
Nolina longifolia
The theater was planned, built, and created by Rowena Cade. An inspirational woman who was determined to realize her vision of a wonderful theatre, even if she had to do most of the hard work herself
Seats carved with names of previous productions held at the theatre
As you enter the theatre, and from the top part you are greeted by the sheer majesty of the place...
And the planting within the theater itself is wonderful, especially if you are into succulents, with plenty of Agaves, Aloes, and Aeoniums thriving in the sunny, mild, and (very) well drained planting beds.
Agave pedunculifera
Scilla peruviana
They have some new plantings too...
And a charming little plant sales area (or cupboard more like it!)...
And if you're not into plants, you can't help but admire the stunning views from the theater...
In the afternoon there were rehearsals going on for the show later in the evening...
With such stunning backdrop, you don't need an elaborate stage set...
And come evening we were treated to a fantastic performance by the New Cornwall Opera of the opera Cavalleria Rusticana...
We were there all afternoon and well into the evening until the end of the performance. A truly magical place that we would never tire of visiting over and over again. And if you are ever down in Cornwall and have never been, then I'd say it's a must to visit this place!
Great views, great garden, great theatre!
Mark :-)
