There are big things happening at the Minack this Easter. The theatre is serving up a double helping of fun, songs and laughter to celebrate the start of another year of fabulous outdoor theatre. One thing is sure – it’s going to be HUGE!
Two very different – but equally ENORMOUS – shows will run throughout the holiday fortnight, providing great entertainment for families with children and older audiences.
The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary gives an irreverent and affectionate shake up to Flaubert’s classic, first published in 1856, when it was both prosecuted for obscenity and hailed at the greatest novel ever written. Judge for yourself in this irresistibly funny (except for the bits that are massively tragic) adaptation, lovingly derailed by John Nicholson and presented by the Minack Theatre and Ha-Hum-Ah Productions. Emma Bovary is bored. She’s bored with her boring doctor husband, bored with her boring provincial village and bored with her role as a dutiful wife in (boring) nineteenth-century France. But Emma reads novels. Lots of novels. And in novels, life is much more fun… Now, watch four actors battle hilarious mishaps and misbehaving props to tell the (massively) tragic story of Madame Bovary. There will be vermin, visual absurdity, wild animals and a nun.
The ensemble cast of four includes faces that will be familiar to Minack audiences. Ben Kernow (The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Stones in his Pockets, Superstition Mountain and many other Minack productions), Stephen Cavanagh (Stones in his Pockets), Georgia Nicholson (Hetty Feather) and Darren Seed (Superstition Mountain). The production is directed by Kirstie Davis who also directed The Wolves of Willoughby Chase at the Minack.
Running in parallel with Madame Bovary is Giants, a riotous reimagining of the legend of Cormoran, the terrible giant of St Michael’s Mount, packed full of songs and fun and perfect for anyone over the age of 4. The production is brought to life by the team that created the stage adaptation of David Melling’s The Kiss that Missed, storyteller and Associate Director of the Minack, John Brolly, and composer Ben Sutcliffe (People’s String Foundation). It features Cornish favourites, Craig Johnson (Kneehigh, Squashbox) and Jenny Beare (Kneehigh, o-Region) as the two enormous giants who move to Marazion to improve their social status, much to the dismay of the mayor. What he needs is a hero to get rid of his very big problem, but who will take the job? Also featuring 14 young people age 7 – 11 from across West Cornwall, as the mayor, councillors and heroes of Marazion.
The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary opens on 28 March and runs until 14 April. Giants opens on 2 April and runs until 13 April.
For information on performance dates and times visit www.minack.com or to book tickets, phone the Minack Theatre Box Office on 01736 810181 (Mon – Fri 10 – 4). Advance booking essential.
