The event permit has been officially granted to Stichting Het Pauperparadijs, which ticks all the boxes for the theater performance in Veenhuizen. From 7 June to 26 August, Het Pauperparadijs will be performed in the courtyard of the Prison Museum.
In the summers of 2016 and 2017, the Pauperparadijs attracted a large audience and they performed 40 and 52 times respectively. Corona and nitrogen rules ensured that the performance could not be held in the following years. But with the event permit, Het Pauperparadijs has all the necessary papers to perform the play in Veenhuizen again. “We are very surprised by the amount of positive response we have already received on our return to Veenhuizen,” says producer Wolter Lommerde.
The Pauper Paradise tells one of the most dramatic, hidden histories of the Netherlands. In the 19th century poverty was enormous. Tens of thousands of orphans and paupers were put on a ship to Drenthe to receive re-education there. But what started as an idealistic experiment to eradicate poverty turned into a drama.