Stef Bos

Theater Sneek is a purpose built performing arts venue on the Westersingel in Sneek, Friesland, that opened officially on 1 November 2012. Its origins go back to 2008, when a predecessor theater occupied the former post office on that same site. After the post office was demolished, the architectural firm Alberts en Van Huut designed the new building, construction of which ran from July 2010 to June 2012. One of the most immediately recognizable features of the exterior is the stage tower, which rises 23 meters and carries a light beacon on its facade: the color of the beacon signals which genre of performance is taking place inside that evening. The theater contains two halls. The main auditorium carries the name Tüöttenzaal, a reference to the tüötten, the traveling textile traders who once came from the Sneek region and whose most famous descendants, the Brenninkmeijer family, founded the first Dutch branch of C&A on Wijde Burgstraat in Sneek in 1841. The smaller Noorderkerkzaal occupies a building with a much longer history: a Reformed Church erected in 1881, it served its congregation until 2001 and was reopened as a cultural hall in 2010 with a capacity of around 200. This hall has since received a professionally installed Martin Audio FlexPoint loudspeaker system, including cardioid subwoofers and iKON amplification with Dante connectivity, chosen specifically for the room's demanding acoustic profile. Theater Sneek forms part of Cultural Quarter Sneek, a wider redevelopment project that has been taking shape since 2006. The quarter also includes the Atrium arts center, which brings together the Noorderkerk, the popular pop venue Het Bolwerk and two historic school buildings at the Oud Kerkhof, all connected beneath a shared glass roof.