More Dutch theaters offer free admission for children as producers warn of boycott
Free admission for children to theater performances is expanding rapidly across the Netherlands, NOS reports. At least 30 venues now offer programs in which young audiences can attend without paying. At the same time, the expansion has triggered a growing conflict with commercial theater producers, culminating in a threat of boycott.
The trend is visible in multiple cities. At the Wilminktheater in Enschede, visitors up to age 18 will be able to attend a wide range of performances for free after the summer. Theater Het Speelhuis in Helmond is also joining the initiative in the coming season. Theater Hanzehof in Zutphen began offering free access earlier this year and will continue the policy in the new season, with seven productions open to children at no cost. In each case, adult companions must still purchase tickets.
In Zutphen, the theater wrote, “By offering children free access, young visitors, regardless of background or income, get the chance to experience theater up close.” In Enschede, the goal is that “children and young people in the region can become acquainted with theater without costs forming a barrier.”
The Maaspoort in Venlo is widely regarded as the driver of the model. During the coronavirus pandemic, it saw young audiences disappear from its halls. In 2022, only 15 percent of children attended a performance, compared with 59 percent before COVID-19, according to theater director Leon Thommassen. “While it is so important to give children that experience, we felt we had to do something about those numbers,” Thommassen said.
The solution was a youth fund supported by foundations, cultural funds, companies, and theater patrons. “The parties we approached were immediately very enthusiastic, also because of the appealing target group,” he told NOS. “Within a few weeks, we had set up the fund and secured coverage to offer all performances free to children for a full year.” He added that producers were paid for all occupied seats, including those used by children.
The impact in Venlo was significant. “We noticed very quickly that it took off,” Thommassen said. “In the 2018-2019 season, the most comparable pre-COVID season, we had 5,000 visitors at youth performances. In the 2024-2025 season, there were more than 23,000 visitors for free youth performances, of whom nearly 14,000 were children. Occupancy rose from 46 to 84 percent.”
The model has since spread to other theaters, including Schouwburg Hengelo. Since the 2024-2025 season, nearly all youth and dance performances there have been free for visitors up to age 16. The theater deliberately chose not to limit the number of free shows.
“If we are going to do this, we also want visitors to be able to choose where they go themselves,” said marketing manager Mirella Jellema. She added: “If we do this, we want visitors to choose where they go.”
Schouwburg Hengelo reports that attendance at family performances doubled in the first season of the program. Full figures for the current season are not yet available, but the theater plans to continue the policy regardless. It also reports a side effect: more people are signing up as “friends of the theater” and donating annually.
While families welcome the affordability, commercial theater producers are increasingly critical. They say the rise of free access creates competition between venues and distorts audience flows. “Unequal competition between theaters is emerging,” said Dian Hoelscher, director of the Association of Independent Theater Producers (VVTP).
According to Hoelscher, shifting audience leads to fewer youth productions in theaters that still charge admission, reducing overall offerings for children. Touring productions that operate without subsidies are also affected, she said, because they cannot secure enough performances to cover their costs. “The effects are not sustainable in the long term,” she said.
The VVTP escalated the dispute this week in Utrecht, warning at a members’ meeting of theater and concert hall directors that it may boycott venues that offer free admission to children. The association represents producers responsible for about 85 percent of professional performing arts in the Netherlands, including Studio 100, Van Hoorne Studios, and REP Entertainment.
The threat has been received with concern by theater directors, who see free access as a new standard and a way to attract younger audiences. Thommassen of Maaspoort said he does not recognize the claims that producers are experiencing declining revenue. He said that in Venlo, "payments to impresarios for family and youth performances have risen sharply.”
He added, "I would find it deeply unfortunate if this initiative is cut short and children are once again kept out of the theater. Inequality of opportunity is a hot issue in every municipality. All attending the same performance is something ultimate in that regard; I cannot think of anything better.”
