I have come across stories where the sheer grit and determination on display have inspired me. But Rowena's tale far surpasses all of them - girl power personified! When I first heard about the Minack theatre and the wonder it is, I knew I had to see this one. An open air theatre with the raging Atlantic ocean as the back drop - stuff of fairy tales indeed! I was determined to see it and we visited it while caravanning at Cornwall. And like the guide books mentioned I too did believe at first sight that it must have been constructed by the Romans or at least a truckload of huge builders with all their paraphernalia of cranes and bulldozers. But then the story of Rowena Cade unfolds before your eyes - an aristocratic upbringing born to a famous artist, Rowena was associated with the theatre from a young age having performed in a few small scale productions and also assisting extensively in backstage props and costume design. There are those that are patrons of a particular art but then there are those that live and breathe for their art and give up their lives for it.
She decided to convert her garden at Cornwall to a staging area for plays and thus began the rest of her life as lover of the theatre but primarily visionary and master builder. She set off to work converting her back yard at Minack house for Shakespeare's Tempest. What started out as a simple staging area for this play then slowly evolved into this amazing sight that stretched out before my eyes. Stones cut and and polished to make seating areas and a central staging area painfully hand carved lovingly into stone. She loved Shakespeare and what a stage she created for his work. But as all pioneers do, she too faced hurdles at every corner. World war II for starters put a huge damper on progress but she ploughed on. Rowena would continue to work on the theatre all her life till her mid eighties. She struggled many a time to make ends meet as ticket sales failed to generate enough funds for upkeep but nothing fazed her. A women who single-handedly moved ship wrecked wood from the beach below for the dressing rooms knew a thing or two about muscling through any hurdle.....
With just two sidekicks, her gardeners, a seemingly "frail old women" achieved the impossible.Today the theatre is swarming with visitors and theatre folk but her journey was a lonely one filled with hardships. If you are ever wondering what to see in Cornwall, make this top of your list. My only misgiving was that we couldn't see one of the productions being staged there but hopefully one I will be given the chance to set right.
There are many moments when architectural wonders take our breath away but very few labours of love that choke us - a women who lovingly chiseled away at a brutal mountain surface all her life to unearth her dream........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUBp_LvXuc4
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