The Badhuistheater (Dutch: Bath house theatre) is a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

venue located in a former

bath house Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

on the east-side of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. The theater is both a cultural meeting point for locals and a stage for international theatre productions. The theater is run by British actor and writer Michael Manicardi who acquired the neglected bath house around 1985 and transformed it into a theater. As a theater it seats between 50 and 150 audience, depending on the chosen configuration.

History

The building had a distinct circular shape around a central chimney. It was the first free standing communal bath house, build (in 1920) for this purpose. Its architecture is in the distinct “Amsterdamse school” style. The building is a Dutch National monument (Dutch: Rijksmonument) Since 2005 the Badhuistheater has its own theater-company: The Badhuis International Theatre. On a regular basis the bring new productions to the theater which they also bring to international festivals and other venues. More recently they produced pieces from

Sean O'Casey Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...

Dublin Trilogy ( The Shadow of a Gunman, Juno and the Paycock,

The Plough and the Stars ''The Plough and the Stars'' is a four-act play by the Irish writer Seán O'Casey that was first performed on 8 February 1926 at the Abbey Theatre. It is set in Dublin and addresses the 1916 Easter Rising. The play's title references the Sta ...

) and The Good Soldier Svejk after the books by

Jaroslav Hašek Jaroslav Hašek (; 1883–1923) was a Czech writer, humorist, satirist, journalist, bohemian and anarchist. He is best known for his novel '' The Fate of the Good Soldier Švejk during the World War'', an unfinished collection of farcical inc ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website Badhuistheater
Theatres in the Netherlands Concert halls in Amsterdam Rijksmonuments in Amsterdam