Crowdfunding Studio Boekman: dreaming big in a small setting 

‘Help us transform Dutch National Opera & Ballet’s smallest theatre!’

For years we’ve dreamed of adding a small theatre to our home of opera and ballet on the Waterlooplein. You can help us make our long-held dream come true this season. Our current smaller theatre, Boekmanzaal, will be transformed into a brand new space: Studio Boekman, in the new year. With this transformation we create a stage for up-and-coming talent, and a place where diverse audiences can come together to enjoy innovative programming and experimental performances. An important part of these plans is to build a comfortable new seating area for our audience. Our dream is to be able to seat about 180 guests in an appealing retractable seating area. But before we can make this happen, we have a lot of work to do; the now empty Boekmanzaal theatre needs extensive renovation to be turned into a lively cultural hotspot. And that’s where you come in. We need your help.

A small theatre with grand ambitions 

In Studio Boekman’s intimate setting, we plan to explore the unknown with an open mind as we engage in exciting partnerships. We’ll invite young theatremakers, choreographers, writers, thinkers, singers and composers to take to the stage and tell their stories. Our ambition is to create a venue where everyone feels at home and that’s a comfortable place to be, both for regular visitors and for people who are only just discovering cultural pursuits. We envision a place where people can enjoy special events, listen to new stories and experience surprising presentation forms that will make them see opera and ballet in an entirely different light. The new theatre will give audiences an up-close look at how theatremakers and artists train, rehearse and experiment, and at how opera, ballet and other art forms overlap and intersect.

Can we count on your support? 

But before we can welcome guests to the new theatre, the Boekmanzaal in its current state needs an overhaul. To turn it into a true theatre, its flooring, partitioning and ceilings will be changed and the space will be outfitted with dressing rooms, lighting, lifting equipment and a lobby. We’ve all but managed to secure funding for the major renovation works, but we need your help to fund the new seating area. We kindly ask you to support us in raising the last 40.000 euros. Please donate now and help us build the theatre of our dreams. Thank you! Your donation is greatly appreciated.