Venue: Koninklijke Schouwburg
Address: Korte Voorhout 3, Centrum, Den Haag
Town: The Hague, NL
Capacity: 680

The Koninklijke Schouwburg (literally translated: Royal Theater or Royal Playhouse) is a theater in the city center of The Hague. The theater was built in 1766 and has been in use as theater since 1804. From 2017 it is one of the theaters in use by the national theater company Het Nationale Theater, but also other companies perform in the Schouwburg. The main room of the Schouwburg is relatively small for current standards, and can seat 680 people in total with the main room and three balconies. The stage has a 1929 antique revolving stage that is still functional but no longer in use. It is considered one of the most prestigious theaters in the country. In 1766 Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg, brother in law of stadtholder William V, ordered the construction of a little city palace at the Korte Voorhout for his 23 year old wife Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau and himself. He gave the assignment to Pieter de Swart, who studied for two years in Paris, paid for by stadtholder William IV. De Swart was also responsible for several other prominent buildings in The Hague, such as the former Royal Library, the Lange Voorhout Palace and the Lutheran church. De Swart drafted a design in neo-Louis XIV style for a 77 meter wide and three stories high building around a semicircular cour d'honneur. At the front of the building, from left to right, a billiard room, bed room, cabinet and antichambre would be located. At the garden side of the building, a music hall, ballroom and party room would be located, with five goblins on the walls. He also made designs for two canapés, 18 gilded fauteuils and five bronze wall chandeliers. The curtains were to be made out of damask. In 1769, Charles Christian moved to Weilburg, where Carolina died in 1787. This removed urgency from his side to finish the city palace. In 1774 part of the palace was finished, but architect de Swart died the previous year. The building could not be finished, and the designs were auctioned off. B