As Jack And The Beanstalk lands in the Cornwall Playhouse for Christmas 2024, HfC Deputy Theatre Manager Jack Morrison shines a light on Cornwall’s longstanding love affair with the lore of giants.
As Christmas peeps its sparkly head round the corner we’re looking forwards to one of your festive highlights: a charming retelling of Jack And The Beanstalk, produced by Cornwall Playhouse Productions at Hall for Cornwall and starring Cornwall legend Edward Rowe/Kernow King as Dame Trott. Of course, this tale of magic beanstalks is a classic from the English fairy story cannon, but did you know that Cornwall’s fascination runs much deeper, with local tales of giants stretching back over a thousand years. In fact, Jack and the Beanstalk continues a tradition of Giant storytelling that goes back millennia, giving Cornwall the ancient title ‘Land Of Giants’.
Giants you say? Let’s find out more…
While stories of giants are not unique to Cornwall, they’re a significant element of Celtic and Cornish mythology, fitting snuggly with legends from Wales, Brittany, Ireland and Scotland.
Giants also occupy a central role in Norse mythology, where they are key figures in the cosmic battles with the gods.
Today, when giants are mentioned in Cornwall, it’s probably surface level, with a knowing wink. But dig a bit deeper and a collection of colossal characters await our discovery. Suddenly, ancient names trip across the tongue – Blunderbuss, Cormoran, Blunderbore, Rebecks, Cormilan, Bedruthan, Cormelian, Trecobben, Bolster or Gogmagog.
The huge footprints of these legends have carved their way into the landscape, leaving traces of mystery and magic across every part of our region. Have you ever cast your eye across the rugged Cornish landscape and thought about how it would have looked thousands of years ago? You wouldn’t be the first. Legends of giants are linked with almost every hill and valley and are widespread across Penwith, Carn Brea, St Agnes, Portreath, Bodmin Moor, Bedruthan and North Cornwall’s border with England.
Typically, these legends offer explanations for natural occurrences… Throughout history, eagle-eyed dreamers have noticed rock formations on the cliffs and hillsides and wondered at their origins. Many have speculated at how a sky-scraping hill could sprout a perfect stack of stones. Did it result from giants throwing rocks at each other? And how about the building-sized rocks scattered off the coast? Were they stepping stones in the sea for giants to move around with ease? Maybe so…
If I asked you to think of Cornish myths you were familiar with, you’d be excused if images of King Arthur, piskies, knockers, bucca or mermaids were the first to come to mind, but our Cornish ancestors were fixated on the larger than life as well.
The giant myths of Cornwall have long fascinated with their accounts of horror, man-eating creatures, and tyranny. When we think about how a giant might look, they are frequently depicted as lethargic, ferocious monsters who intimidate the ordinary people. Is there any truth to it all? Or are they fearsome creatures we’ve dreamt up over the years?
In the Eighteenth Century when Arthurian Legend fell out of fashion, stories of Cornish Giants were all the rage and Jack the Giant Killer became the Harry Potter of his day. The first published version of the Jack The Giant Killer myths open with a battle in one of the most iconic locations in the British Isles, right here in Cornwall.
Behold the brave Cornishman, | Slayer of the Giant Cormilan.
On the lofty slopes and shadowy caves of St. Michael’s Mount lived the gargantuan creature Cormilan.
Reaching eighteen feet in height and nine feet wide, Cormilan cast a pall of dread over Mounts Bay as it preyed on the lifestock of the local farmers.
A young man called Jack was assured the giant’s wealth in exchange for defeating the monster.
At the first light of day on St Michael’s Mount, Jack sounded a horn, waking and provoking the angry giant to emerge.
In a blind rage, the giant fell into a pit Jack had prepared.
Jack killed the beast with a decisive swing of his pickaxe, converting the pit into the giant’s grave.
When Arthuriana became popular again in the Nineteenth Century, the more fantasy elements, like the giants and Jack the Giant-Killer, were marginalised. We are left with one well-known tale and while it’s hard to know how the Beanstalk evolved out of St Michael’s Mount, this Cornish story was undoubtedly the start of this journey.
Know the myth now see it for real!
With a deep-rooted history of giant myths and legends in Cornwall, it is with the greatest pride and pleasure that we bring the giant and Jack back to life in a new way – one that celebrates these stories on stage, inviting every generation of Cornish folk to rediscover their magic this Christmas through the Cornwall Playhouse Production of Jack And The Beanstalk at Hall for Cornwall from 06 December 2024.
Photographs by Hugh Hastings
GARETH COOPER
