Utrecht City Theatre
Willem Dudok's 1941 city theatre, Utrecht's main stage for drama, dance and music theatre.
The Stadsschouwburg is Utrecht's principal receiving theatre, presenting spoken drama, contemporary dance, opera, music theatre and cabaret. Its three auditoriums are the Grote Zaal, seating around 800, the smaller Blauwe Zaal and the flexible Hekman Zaal. Companies from across the Netherlands and abroad appear here, and the building also hosts award ceremonies and the galas of the Netherlands Film Festival each autumn.
Willem Marinus Dudok designed the theatre in the 1930s and it opened in 1941 on the Lucasbolwerk, a bastion of the former city wall. The composition steps up from low brick wings to the fly tower in the horizontal, block-like manner Dudok had developed at Hilversum town hall. Yellow brick, long window bands and a projecting entrance canopy define the front, while the foyers use marble, timber and indirect lighting. The building is protected as a national monument and was restored in the 2000s.
Highlights
- Willem Dudok's stepped brick composition of 1941
- Grote Zaal seating about 800, with two smaller halls
- Programme of drama, dance, opera, music theatre and cabaret
- Host venue for the Netherlands Film Festival galas
