Behind the scenes: Amsterdam theatre in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

Amsterdam theater

In 1637, a wooden theater was built on the Keizersgracht. This place would grow into Amsterdam's entertainment venue in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Amsterdammers from all walks of life visited the theater, which would prove to be a place of cultural innovation. Imaginative plays from all over Europe were performed here for a century and a half. Actors and especially actresses became the stars of the city. The theater was also a rich source of inspiration for Rembrandt and his students. On May 11, 1772, the theater burned to the ground. A new theater was built on Leidseplein.

Theater on the street and in warehouses

The presentation in the City Archives also shows that theater was not only made in the theater. Street theater was everywhere, such as at Vluizenburg, the beating heart of Jewish Amsterdam. Theater plays were performed there in warehouses and cellars. It could well be that Rembrandt was inspired here for his print The Triumph of Mordecai , which is also exhibited in the Treasury .

Rembrandtplein

Street theater was also a regular feature at the fair: from mid-September onwards it was always busy in the city in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. On the Botermarkt (now Rembrandtplein) visitors could see tightrope walkers, acrobats and street theater by traveling companies and admire exotic animals. The presentation shows these lively street scenes in a number of beautiful prints.

Simultaneously with the Treasury presentation, the exhibition Regie: Rembrandt can be seen in the Rembrandt House . An audio walk connects the exhibitions and passes places that tell about Rembrandt and theater life in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The (free) audio tour ends at the old Amsterdam theater, where The Dylan Amsterdam is now.