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

Trivia

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


  NODES
INTERN 1
Note 2