 AFAS Circustheater in 2016 | |
 | |
| Address | Circusstraat 4, 2586 CW The Hague Netherlands |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 52°06′39″N 4°16′57″E / 52.110833°N 4.2825°E |
| Owner | Stage Entertainment |
| Capacity | 1852 |
| Production | Current: Anastasia Fall 2021: Aladdin |
| Website | |
| AFAS Circustheater | |
The Circustheater (AFAS Circustheater) is a musical theatre in The Hague, owned and operated by Stage Entertainment.
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.
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]
| 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 | T.B.D. | Revival production. |
