Accessibility Guide for Minack Theatre

Welcome

The Minack Theatre is an internationally renowned open-air theatre on the Cornish cliffs at Porthcurno in the far south west of Cornwall. We welcomed over 300,000 visitors in 2019 either to watch a performance or to explore the theatre and learn about the extraordinary work of our founder, Rowena Cade. Our main season runs from April to October, with 200 performances of more than 40 different productions ranging from Shakespeare to contemporary drama, musicals, opera and one-night music events. Our hugely popular children’s story-telling programme runs three mornings a week in all school holidays including the winter months.

Watch the video: The Minack from above

Image of theatre at an evening performance

Level access

The main entrance has level access. The ramp is permanent.

There is level access from the main entrance to:

Entrance desk in the shop Ticket Shack in the Car Park Theatre toilets Car park toilet Minack Shop Exhibition Centre

We have a viewing area for wheelchair users.

Access with steps

There are steps from the main entrance to:

Minack Theatre Minack Gardens

Hearing

We have a hearing loop in covering the grass area of the Lower Terraces and in the Accessible Balcony..

Some staff have BSL and disability awareness training.

Visual

Glass doors and full-height windows have contrast markings.

The walls and the doors have high colour contrast.

Some parts of the venue have low lighting.

We have display information in audio and large print.

There is audio descriptive commentary and headsets.

General

We have a complimentary ticket policy for personal assistants.

There is a public toilet for disabled visitors.

Some staff have disability awareness training.

We have emergency evacuation procedures for disabled visitors.

Getting here

Minack Theatre

Porthcurno

Penzance

TR19 6JU

Travel by public transport

You can get to Minack Theatre by bus.

The nearest bus stop is in Porthcurno valley. First Kernow run a scheduled service on the 300 and 1A from Penzance. The theatre is a 400m walk up a steep hill. The bus stop is 0.5 miles / 0.8 km from Minack Theatre.

We advertise a local taxi firm who can provide transport from the bus stop to the Minack car park. We also run our own bus from St Ives and back for the majority of performances. Information about this is on our website.

Travel by taxi

You can get a taxi with Logan Rock Cars by calling 01736871786. You can get a taxi with St Just Cars by calling 01736786586. You can get a taxi with Stones by calling 01736363400. The taxi company has a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

You can get a taxi with PZ Taxis by calling 01736366366. The taxi company has a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

Parking

We have a car park. There are accessible parking spaces. The parking is less than 50 metres from the main entrance. Parking is free.

The drop off point is by the gates in the car park. There is then a ramp down to the main entrance. There are flights of steps on this route, but there are also ramped alternatives. From the parking to the main entrance, there are 12 steps. There is no ramp and no lift.

The ramp from our car park to the entrance is steep, ranging from 11% to 15%. We will review this in the future. Staff will assist wheelchair users if necessary. We have our own electric wheelchair available that customers can use on request.

Tarmac car park with accessible parking spaces

The narrowest part of the entrance ramp.

Arrival

Path to main entrance

From the street to the main entrance, there are 12 steps. There is no ramp and no lift.

The path is sloped.

Main entrance

The main entrance has level access.

There is a permanent ramp.

The door is 1930mm wide.

The main door is side hung and manual.

Our entrance door is a double door: single opening is 930mm, double opening is 1930mm, staff are always on hand to open the second door if necessary.

Getting around inside

Visual Impairment - General Information

We have contrast markings on all glass doors, contrast markings on all full-height windows and high colour contrast between walls and doorframes.

Some parts of the venue have low lighting.

The Exhibition Centre is lit reasonably well, but feels dark when entered from outside.

Ticket/ information desk

Entrance desk in the shop

From the main entrance to the desk, there is level access. There is a permanent ramp. The desk has a low section.

The low section is a lift-up flap.

View of main entrance desk showing low flap for wheelchair users

The route from the door (on the left) to the ticket desk (on the right)

Ticket/ information desk

Ticket Shack in the Car Park

From the main entrance to the desk, there is level access. From the main entrance to this desk, there are 12 steps. There is no lift and no ramp.

The desk has a low section.

This is a ticket and retail point in our car park which is open for afternoon and evening performances for selling and collecting tickets to performances.

the ticket sales point in the car park for performance tickets

Things to See and Do

We have a complimentary ticket policy for personal assistants.

We have performances with: audio-described, British Sign Language interpreted and relaxed.

We have display information in: audio and large print.

Spectator/ Audience viewing areas

There are stewards to help disabled visitors.

There are specific stewards to help disabled visitors.

There is audio descriptive commentary.

There are headsets if required.

You can listen to audio commentary in some of the venue.

We have a viewing area for wheelchair users.

Accessible Balcony

From the main entrance to the viewing area, there is level access. There is a permanent ramp. The route is 1930 wide, or more. Personal assistants and friends can sit with wheelchair users.

Wheelchair users can sit with their own fans.

Stewards can bring food and drink to wheelchair users.

This balcony offers a full view of the theatre.

We provide chairs with arm rests for the less mobile and the balcony is accessible to wheelchairs.

There is also an induction loop provided in this area for the hard of hearing.

External ramps to the accessible balcony.

Public toilet

Theatre toilets

There is a public toilet for disabled visitors.

From the main entrance to the public toilet, there is level access. There is a permanent ramp.

The toilet door is 740mm wide.

The direction of transfer onto the toilet is to the left.

There is 1260mm at the side of the toilet. There is 600mm in front of the toilet. The toilet seat is 470mm high. The toilets have handrails.

There is an adapted toilet at the top of the theatre which is easily accessible with a wheelchair and which has baby changing facilities, non-slip flooring and facilities for visitors with limited mobility.

The door is side-hinged.

Hand-washing facilities are designed for ease of use by visitors with limited mobility, e.g. lever taps. There is an audio-assist system in this facility.

The ladies toilets currently have one step to enter.

Public toilet

Car park toilet

From the main entrance to the public toilet, there is level access. The toilet door is 830mm wide.

The direction of transfer onto the toilet is to the right.

There is 560mm at the side of the toilet. There is 1300mm in front of the toilet. The toilet seat is 470mm high. The toilets have handrails.

From the main entrance to the public toilet, there are 12 steps. There is no lift and no ramp.

This toilet is accessed via paving from our grass car park.

Shop

Minack Shop

From the main entrance to the shop, there is level access. The route through the shop is 800mm wide, or more.

All merchandise in the shop is clearly priced; many items are at a low level, assistance can be provided by staff.

Exhibition Centre

From the main entrance to this area, there is level access. The door is 780mm wide.

The Exhibition Centre has reasonable lighting, and a level, easily negotiable surface with a separate entrance and exit.

The doors are secured open when the site is open for visitors.

In extreme weather, the doors may be left closed, but a member of staff will be available to assist customers as appropriate.

The Exhibition panels were revamped in 2014 to improve the contrast of the text for those with vision impairments.

Touch screen films and audio visual film give more detail of the history of the theatre in an audio format.

There are bench seats and a row of chairs with arms available in the audio display room of the Exhibition Centre.

Getting around outside

Minack Theatre

From the main entrance to the area, there are 100 steps.

There are over 100 steps from the accessible areas at the top of the site to the lowest part of the theatre. These have been built over the 80 years that the theatre has been in operation. As the site has evolved, these steps are not uniform in size or depth. There are handrails around the site and the placing of these are reviewed annually.

Visitors: during opening hours when no performances are in progress, visitors are free to explore the theatre auditorium, stage and backstage areas at their own pace.

The theatre holds a maximum of 710 people for performances. Audience members are directed to the appropriate area by stewards and assisted where appropriate.

the classic view of the Minack stage and lower terraces

the lower terraces viewed from the stage

Minack Gardens

From the main entrance to the area, there are 30 steps.

There are areas of sub tropical planting around much of the site with a more extensive area for visitors to explore above the accessible balcony.

A selection of flowers in the Minack gardens.

Some of the planting lower in the theatre.

Customer care support

Accessibility equipment

We provide wheelchairs. Wheelchairs are free.

We have a hearing loop in covering the grass area of the Lower Terraces and in the Accessible Balcony..

We are generally able to provide copies of scripts in advance of performances which can be followed either on paper or on a tablet device for customers who are hard of hearing. We also offer headsets for free that enhance the audio for performances.

We offer BSL interpreted and audio described performances on a selection of our productions. Audio description can occasionally be provided on request. Call the box office on 01736 810181 for information.

For a list of more items, please go to https://www.minack.com/accessibility.

The nearest toilet area for assistance dogs would be in the field adjacent to our grass car park. However, visitors are allowed to bring assistance dogs into the theatre at all times and provided any mess is cleared up, this is not an issue.

We have an area to charge mobility scooters and battery powered wheelchairs.

We can charge scooters or wheelchairs within one of our buildings if they charge via a 13 amp plug.

You can hire mobility equipment from HSC Mobility by calling 01736 755927.

Emergency evacuation procedures

We have emergency evacuation procedures for disabled visitors.

As we are mainly an open air attraction, we do not use a fire alarm within the theatre space. There are alarms within the buildings, but these do not have flashing lights.

Customer care support

Some staff have disability awareness training.

Some staff have BSL training.