1/2 This is how the new theater De Lievekamp in Oss will look (photo: Cepezed).
Making one of two theaters: that is the plan in Oss. The former Zuiderstrandtheater from Scheveningen and parts of the old Lievekamp are reused for a new theater. After a long design phase there is now a final plan. “Our theater is the first circular theater ever, but it doesn’t feel as second -hand,” says Alderman Dolf Warris.
In 2022, the municipality of Oss bought the Zuiderstrandtheater from the municipality of The Hague and saved it in parts. To arrive at one new building together with the current building, was a challenge. “During the design process, the theater looked different every time. We had to ensure that every piece came to the right place,” says the alderman.
The theater hall of the Zuiderstrandtheater forms the new large room with more than nine hundred seats. The current large room of the Lievekamp is being converted to a smaller room with three hundred and fifty seats. “It is not that you just stick the two halls together,” says the alderman. But visitors will clearly recognize the old halls from The Hague and Oss.
“From the stage to the seats. You will see everything again. Visitors get the familiar feeling of the Lievekamp in the new theater.”
In addition, there will be a small room, a so -called vest pocket hall, with a hundred chairs. A new backstage room, Foyers and the Theatercafé complete the theater. And there will be a whole new exterior that is reminiscent of stage curtains. Warris: “We wanted to prevent it from looking like a second -hand theater. Because it is a brand new theater, with recycled building materials.”
The costs for the new theater are now estimated at around 74 to 75 million euros. This means that circular construction is not necessarily cheaper in terms of price. But there are benefits. “We don’t have to take into account the rising prices of building materials. And we can build faster, because the materials are already ready,” says the alderman.
“In addition, we can disassemble the theater in the future in such a way that we can use the building materials again.”
The city council will make a decision about the final draft in May. If everything goes according to plan, the rebuilding starts in the first quarter of 2026. First, the Zuiderstrandtheater is rebuilt on the site of the old library next to the Lievekamp. This allows the current theater in Oss to remain open during the work.
Oss hopes to be able to offer the first performances in the new theater in 2029.
