WHAT do Cole Porter, a little theatre on the banks of the river Wharfe and a large open-air theatre hanging precariously on Cornish cliffs have in common? The answer is Kiss Me, Kate, the Cole Porter classic which is the latest Ilkley Playhouse production to make its way to the world-famous Minack Theatre in Porthcurno. The Playhouse has the happy honour of being the only theatre in West Yorkshire to be invited to perform at this prestigious (and breathtaking) venue.

The Minack Theatre is a remarkable outdoor venue, carved out of a spectacular Cornish granite cliff-face near Land’s End. In large part the life’s work of one remarkable woman, Rowena Cade, who died 35 years ago, the Minack now hosts a 17-week season of professional and amateur groups.

This year the Ilkley Playhouse are excited to take their production of Kiss Me, Kate (which is on in Ilkley between June 5 and 17) to this beautiful setting from July 24 to 28, rubbing shoulders with the rest of the Minack’s – largely professional – line-up. It’s a testament to the high standards held at the Playhouse!

The fascinating story of the Minack is worthy of a play itself. Its founder Rowena Cade (1893 – 1983) lived at Minack House, at the top of the cliff, and in the early 30s decided to create a space for a local drama group to perform Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Rowena and her gardener spent the winter of 1391-32 moving earth and granite to create a stage and terraces ready for the first performance in 1932.

Rowena Cade’s unique vision is thriving: today the Minack is a professionally equipped and jaw-droppingly beautiful venue that brings professional and amateur theatre to the far west of Cornwall, just four miles from Land’s End.

The Playhouse’s association with the Minack is now into its fifth decade. The Ilkley Players first performed at The Minack Theatre in 1975, when then Artistic Director David Wildman contacted Rowena Cade, founder of the Minack, and the Ilkley Players were first invited to perform.

If Rowena Cade particularly enjoyed a production then she had a box of peaches delivered to the dressing room. The Playhouse’s cast of Camelot in 1979 were doubly honoured to not only win the Minack trophy for the best production of the season but also the coveted box of peaches! In a pleasing sign of continuity, the Camelot cast included Kay Vann and Mervyn Button, Playhouse stalwarts and Minack aficionados, who are both also in the cast of Kiss Me, Kate.

Kiss Me, Kate is getting fantastic reviews at the Playhouse, and is expected be a big hit in Cornwall where, instead of playing to houses of 150 or so, audiences can reach 750. The logistics and technical adaptations required are very familiar to David Kirk, the Playhouse’s Artistic Director, who first appeared at the Minack in Hello Dolly in 1982.

Visits are not without trepidation. Clearly the weather’s in the lap of the gods (appropriately, for an amphitheatre!). Performances have been known to go ahead in force nine gales, with actors unable to stand up straight and speeches disappearing into Atlantic squalls, while pre-performance hours may be passed in the local laundromat waiting for costumes to dry.

Entering and exiting the stage itself means negotiating a path with a sheer drop (on the first afternoon, the cast and crew have to form a human chain to pass the equipment and costumes down to the stage). Playhouse President Roger Davy talks of the need for a healthy dose of Dunkirk Spirit, but it all adds to the drama: after all, the show must go on!

Further, despite the Playhouse’s long-standing connection with the Minack, there is no guarantee that there will be a return visit in 2019: for a venue as prestigious as the Minack, you are only as good as your last performance and there is a nail-biting wait until the last performance of the run before a return invitation is issued (or not!).

With many theatre groups vying for the opportunity, Ilkley Playhouse recognises that it is privileged to receive its bi-annual invitation to perform in Cornwall. The cast and crew of Kiss Me, Kate are thrilled to take this joyous, uplifting show to this very special venue – the cast is raring to go!

If western Cornwall is a trek too far then you can enjoy this dazzling production from the comfort of your own county, from Monday, June 5 to Saturday, June 17 at the Ilkley Playhouse.

More details can be found at ilkleyplayhouse.co.uk or by calling the box office on 01943 609 539.