# Circustheater

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

## History

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. The theatre is currently owned and operated by Stage Entertainment, the international live-entertainment company founded by Joop van den Ende.

## Sponsorship

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.

## Productions

| 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 | Revival production. |
| 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

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