The Circustheater (AFAS Circustheater) is a musical theatre in The Hague, owned and operated by Stage Entertainment.

AFAS Circustheater
AFAS Circustheater in 2016
Map
AddressCircusstraat 4, 2586 CW
The Hague
Netherlands
Coordinates52°06′39″N 4°16′57″E / 52.110833°N 4.2825°E / 52.110833; 4.2825
OwnerStage Entertainment
Capacity1852
ProductionCurrent: Anastasia
Fall 2021: Aladdin
Website
AFAS Circustheater

History

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The theatre dates back to 1904, when it was designed by Wilhelmus Barnardus van Liefland and was built to house Circus Schumann during the summer season. When the publics interest in the circus declined, the theatre was transformed in 1964 to a regular theater to house concerts among others. Over the following decades the theatre started to deteriorate. Joop van den Ende, Stardust B.V. and Xelat Recrea B.V. acquired the theatre from the municipality of The Hague for the symbolic amount of ƒ 1,-. The consortium invested ƒ 25 million and transformed the site into the first open-end musical theatre of The Netherlands, the new theatre was designed by architect Meijs.[1] The theatre is currently owned and operated by Stage Entertainment, the international live-entertainment company founded by Joop van den Ende.

Sponsorship

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The theatre has had a sponsor since the re-opening in 1991. This started with VSB from 1991 till 2004, when VSB merged with Fortis changing the name into Fortis Circustheater. When the bank went under during the financial crisis the sponsorship stopped in 2010. In 2011 a new sponsor was found in AFAS, resulting in the current name of the complex.[2]

Productions

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Show Start End Notes
Les Misérables December 6, 1991 May 24, 1992 Opened originally on February 28, 1991, at Carré Theatre.
The Phantom of the Opera August 15, 1993 August 3, 1996
Miss Saigon November 24, 1996 July 4, 1999
Elisabeth November 21, 1999 July 22, 2001
Aida October 21, 2001 August 3, 2003
The Sound of Music September 9, 2003 January 9, 2004 Continuation of the original tour premiering on September 23, 2002, at Carré Theatre.
The Lion King April 4, 2004 August 27, 2006
Beauty and the Beast September 2006 January 13, 2007 Continuation of the original tour premiering on Oktober 2, 2005 at Carré Theatre.
Tarzan April 15, 2007 May 24, 2009 European premiere.
Ciske de Rat June 25, 2009 November 29, 2009 Continuation of the original tour premiering on Oktober 7, 2005 at Carré Theatre.
Mary Poppins April 11, 2010 August 28, 2011
Wicked November 6, 2011 January 11, 2013
Sister Act March 3, 2013 August 10, 2014
Billy Elliot November 30, 2014 November 7, 2015
Beauty and the Beast December 13, 2015 September 4, 2016 Revival production.
The Lion King October 30, 2016 July 21, 2019
Anastasia September 5, 2019 On hold The production has been put on hold, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sound of Music June 2021 September 2021 Start of a national tour.
Aladdin September, 2021 February 26, 2023 The production was set to premiere in the fall of 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aida April 12, 2023 April 14, 2024 Revival production.
Frozen May 31, 2024 TBA Previews until June 8, 2024; Premiere June 9 2024; Performances (Wed-Sun) from June 12, 2024

Trivia

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Replica in Madurodam
  • In honour of its 100-year anniversary, Madurodam unveiled a replica of the building on October 5, 2004.

References

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  1. ^ SCHWARTZ, INEKE (1993-07-31). "Luxueus maar niet te dol Verbouwd Circustheater geeft Scheveningen badplaats-allure terug". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  2. ^ "AFAS naamgevend sponsor van het Circustheater". www.afas.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-03-27.
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52°6′39″N 4°16′57″E / 52.11083°N 4.28250°E / 52.11083; 4.28250