Mart Hillen - The Big Six

The Kleine zaal is the smaller of two performance spaces inside the Deventer Schouwburg, a theatre and concert complex that stands at the corner of Gedempte Gracht and Keizerstraat in the centre of Deventer. The building itself dates from 1995, though theatre has occupied that site for much longer: a first theatre was built there in 1870, replaced by a new structure in 1954, and then succeeded by the current combined schouwburg and concert venue four decades later. The Kleine zaal sits alongside the larger main hall, offering a more intimate setting within the same complex. As the small hall of a full service podiumkunsten venue, the Kleine zaal regularly programmes a broad mix of events that range from concerts to theatrical productions and other cultural performances. Its scale makes it suited to acts and shows where closeness between performer and audience is part of the experience, something the larger main hall cannot replicate in the same way. The Deventer Schouwburg as a whole positions itself as the principal stage in the city for performing arts across all genres, and the Kleine zaal functions as an essential part of that offer, handling a steady flow of bookings throughout the year. For Deventer, a mid sized Hanseatic city in Overijssel, having a venue of this kind with two distinct halls means that programming can run simultaneously at different scales, giving the Kleine zaal a practical as well as artistic role in the local cultural calendar.