MINACK LEADS THE WAY BACK

THE Minack Theatre in Cornwall is wasting no time in getting back to work after Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, gave the green light to outdoor performances.

The Minack, perched on the cliffs high above the sea at Porthcurno, will have its first performance today when storyteller Mark Harandon takes the stage.

The site has been open for a week for visits to the gardens and theatre, and executive director Zoe Curnow said they had had about 2,500 visitors in the week. She said that since they were name-checked by Mr Dowden on Thursday, “the phones and website have gone bonkers”.

The theatre will stage storytelling during the day from Monday, and will resume evening performances from the following Monday, July 20.

Audience capacity is being cut from 750-800 down to about 250 as the venue learns to deal with social distancing requirements for staff, performers and audiences.

The Minack had a healthy bank balance when it went into lockdown, so Ms Curnow said she was not worried about its survival, but the pandemic has cost it half the season. Lockdown cut short plans to stage Hetty Feather at the Minack – a production in which the theatre had invested £70,000. The show could be brought back next year.

Meanwhile, Arts Council England has handed out more than £1.058 million to arts organisations in Devon and Cornwall, part of

£33 million funding across the country to help them to stay afloat until the end of September, because of the impact of Covid-19.

Theatre Royal Plymouth, with £806,000, and the Bernard Leach Trust (Leach Pottery) in St Ives, Cornwall (£114,431) are the main beneficiaries in Devon and Cornwall.

Other awards are: Doorstep Arts, Torbay – £2,620; Exeter Phoenix – £75,000; KARST, Plymouth – £30,277; Take A Part CIC, Plymouth – £30,000.