Cornwall: As We Like it

3 July 2024

Some places that Mike and I visit we love immediately: St Georges, Montreal, Queenstown. Others we never really connect to: Halifax, Florida. Still others take a little time to love and appreciate: The Venetian Lido, Glossop, and Cornwall.

O n our first morning we set out early to explore. We walked a dismal section of waterfront, covered in graffiti and leading nowhere. Changing directions, we walked up and down through Penzance and eventually, found it to be quite nice. A butcher sold us some smoked back bacon that I intended to cook for lunch. Locals were out for a morning swim in the ocean and the public Jubilee Pool, filled with thermally heated sea water. A wider and much nice promenade on the west part of town offered nice views and coffee. By the time we made it to Bread Street the town had woken up. We bought a soft and salty focaccia from a young energetic baker. Got tips on making pork pies with a woman running a kitchen shop. Spoke to Dee in the wool store who sold me a lovely English wool poncho, the color of the Cornish sea. I’d need it, she said, if I were going to the Minak Theatre.

We wandered for hours, but the bacon was still in my pocket from earlier in the day, so it really was time to get back and cook it, And besides we had theatre tickets! To see As You Like it at The Minack Theatre

As Mike followed the GPS directions we did not believe we would actually get anywhere. Who would put a theatre out in the middle of nowhere? Apparently, a woman named Rowena Cade. In 1932 she decided that her cliffside lawn would make the perfect setting for The Tempest. She and her friends built a stage and a production. It was such a success (and no doubt a lot of fun!) that she continued to improve on the theatre until her death at age 89 in the 1983. Through the years she expanded it, added gardens and it now produces an annual summer season of shows.

Since we had arrived to the theatre early, we decided to walk down a very steep path to The Porth Curno Beach. Formations of unique granite cradled this shelter beach where beach goers were joyfully swimming as the sun went down. We spoke to a family from Sweden who were camping along the coastal trail with their their tween boys. They had enjoyed a nice swim.

Up the cliff to the theatre entrance where the cue was filled with people well prepared for an evening of theatre exposed to the elements. All arms were full of cushions, blankets, coats and food.

What an amazing venue!!! A full amphitheater of stone, grass, rock, concrete and flowers. The rolling sea, flying birds, sailing ships, and changing sky serve as a backdrop no scenic designer could ever paint. Concrete seats engraved with the names of past shows (mine was actually As You Like It!). What seemed like an uncomfortable spot soon got quite cozy as the audience settled in. Wrapping up in their layers everyone got out their picnics. Pasties, hummus, fruit and lots of champagne seemed were the order of that day. Mike and I feasted on sandwiches of greens, cheese and that foccacia and bacon that I’d bought earlier in the day. And then the performance began.

Wow! The stage floor of pentagons in shades of beige, red and gray. There several levels of platforms and columns, but every time one of them stepped onto the un-fenced tall center stage, I clung to Mike, worried poor Rosalinde or Cecilia would trip and plunge to their death. These actors are fearless!

The show was wonderful, full of music, dancing romance and just plain fun. It made everyone in attendance very happy.

The Minack Theatre is a perfect example of what I have always taught Emily, Ben and all of my students: make your own life. If you want something, make it happen. As YOU like it.