I amsterdam
The city's official website is a one-stop guide to all that's happening in Amsterdam and will link you to the cultural venues where you can purchase tickets.
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The city's official website is a one-stop guide to all that's happening in Amsterdam and will link you to the cultural venues where you can purchase tickets.
This theater's historic Art Deco ambience takes visitors back to the 1920s, perfectly setting the stage for art-house, indie, and international flicks.
Ahoy brings in big names such as Lady Gaga, Green Day, and Neil Young, but also hosts classical philharmonic orchestras, top jazz musicians, and top performance companies like Cirque du Soleil.
Sleek, modern decor fills the lounge of this arthouse theater opposite the Melkweg, while four screens downstairs play independent, international films, and documentaries including some expat-friendly screenings with English subtitles.
A full program of concerts is performed in many of Utrecht's fine churches. The best are usually heard in the Dom.
Utrecht's Festival of Early Music, held in late summer each year, is immensely popular and sells out rapidly. Check the website for details.
This center for innovative and experimental theater has four venues where it puts on plays, often with an eye towards international audiences.
Although increasingly focused on commercial and large-scale musicals, this former circus theater (that still houses the annual World Christmas Circus) also schedules acclaimed Eastern European ballet and opera companies. International stars can be seen, too: Tom Waits, Idina Menzel, Dionne Warwick, and David Sedaris have all performed here.
For an outing with children, visit Kooman's Poppentheater, which performs musical shows with puppets every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon at 2:30. Advance booking is recommended.
This cinema has been run by students since the end of World War II and reflects their world-embracing tastes (especially during the late showings of cult films). The adjoining café is always buzzing with chatty humanities types, but that's not to say that the long-graduated among us are unwelcome.
Former industrial shipyards have been reinvented as, quite possibly, the city's largest broedplaats, or "breeding ground" for the arts, where regular theater performances and festivals take place. And with a ferry departing from behind Centraal Station, getting here could not be easier.
For 10 days in late September, the Nederlands Film Festival screens the past year of Dutch productions in Winkel van Sinkel café and most of the town's cinemas. Many international movies, often in English, are given their Dutch premieres here, and at the Golden Calves (the Dutch Oscars) the year's best are recognized. More than 100,000 visitors attend the many screenings. Tickets can be bought online, by phone, or in person from the temporary pavilion on the Neude square at festival time.
The Nieuwe Luxor Theater has 1,500 seats, and was specifically designed to cater to major stage musicals and other popular events. The theater, one of the Netherlands' largest, was designed by Australian architect Peter Wilson and has a marvelous view of Rotterdam's harbor and skyline. Performances are often in English.
For three days in mid-July, jazz lovers from around the world descend on Rotterdam for the North Sea Jazz Festival, which fills the Ahoy arts complex with music. Around 180 artists perform on 15 different stages in what is one of Europe's largest and most popular celebrations of jazz.
The Pathé is the place to head for blockbusters.
Since 1921, this eclectic Art Deco reverie has been the most dazzling place for moviegoers to escape from reality. Owned by the country's main movie distributor, the theater has six screens showing the latest Hollywood blockbusters and the occasional art-house number. Before the lights go out, enjoy the beautiful interior of the main room.
Alternatively, head to nearby Pathé de Munt, the largest cinema in the city center. With 13 screens, showing the latest mainstream films, it's a typical blockbuster venue. Don't expect much charm, but there will be plenty of legroom, a state-of-the-art sound system, and huge screens. There are also sister theaters near Leidseplein (Pathé City) and in Zuid-Oost (Pathé Arena). All tickets can be booked via www.pathe.nl.
This excellent rock music venue is Haarlem's answer to the Melkweg in Amsterdam, only without the really big bands.
Away from the madding crowds, this little old-worldly 1920s theater is noted for showing art-house cinema and more highbrow film classics. If you're looking to see a non-English language film, the best time to visit is on Monday evening when it's Expat Night and all subtitles are in English.
The annual Spring performing arts festival brings international performers to town in May, with the biggest events usually on the big squares in the center of town, the Neude.
In Utrecht you can find dance on the programs of Stadsschouwburg, which has a major performance hall as well as the Blauwe Zaal (Blue Room) for small productions.
The Amsterdam foundation Kriterion, which has been promoting student-run business ventures since World War II, has added yet another venue to its résumé. This two-screen theater shows not only art-house and foreign films, but with a club, theater, open stage, and a restaurant-bar, it's a multidisciplinarian's dream come true.
For information on cultural events, call the city tourist office or visit their website.
The Theater Lantaren/Venster has an interesting program that shows art films in addition to hosting small-scale dance and theater performances.
The leading theater company of Rotterdam performs at its own theater. Most productions are in Dutch.
Rotterdam's cultural climate facilitates the staging of productions from many semiprofessional groups, such as Turkish folk dance, classical Indian dance, and Brazilian capoeira troupes. The Theater Zuidplein is particularly known for its multicultural program.