Circustheater


The AFAS Circustheater is a Dutch theatre in Scheveningen, The Hague.
The original theatre was opened on July 16, 1904 by Circus Schumann. Designed by architect Wilhelmus Bernardus van Liefland, the building was as a proper circus in the summer seasons until the 1960s. Animals were transported here by train from Den Haag Hollands Spoor railway station. The circus has also carried the name Circus Strassburger, and after the 1960s functioned as a concert hall. Currently the theatre is property of the company Stage Entertainment, founded by Joop van den Ende, who bought the building for the symbolic amount of 1 guilder off the Municipality of The Hague on the condition that it would be converted into a functioning theatre. It is now mainly in use for big musical productions.

Name

Caused by change of ownership and sponsorship the theatre underwent multiple name changes.
Productions that have been shown for longer periods of time in the Circustheater are:
ShowPremiere Last showNotes
Les MisérablesDecember 6, 1991May 24, 1992Opened originally on February 28, 1991 at Carré Theatre.
The Phantom of the OperaAugust 15, 1993August 3, 1996
Miss SaigonNovember 24, 1996July 4, 1999
ElisabethNovember 21, 1999July 22, 2001
AidaOctober 21, 2001August 3, 2003
The Sound of MusicSeptember 9, 2003January 9, 2004Continuation of the original tour premiering on September 23, 2002 at Carré Theatre.
The Lion KingApril 4, 2004August 27, 2006
Beauty and the BeastSeptember 2006January 13, 2007Continuation of the original tour premiering on Oktober 2, 2005 at Carré Theatre.
TarzanApril 15, 2007May 24, 2009European premiere.
Ciske de RatJune 25, 2009November 29, 2009Continuation of the original tour premiering on Oktober 7, 2005 at Carré Theatre.
Mary PoppinsApril 11, 2010August 28, 2011
WickedNovember 6, 2011January 11, 2013
Sister ActMarch 3, 2013August 10, 2014
Billy ElliotNovember 30, 2014November 7, 2015
Beauty and the BeastDecember 13, 2015September 4, 2016Revival production.
The Lion KingOctober 30, 2016July 21, 2019Revival production.
AnastasiaSeptember 5 2019On holdThe production has been put on hold, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
AladdinFall 2021AnnouncedThe production was set to premier in the fall of 2020, but was delayed with a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trivia