Beatrice van der Poel

Theater De Lampegiet opened on 26 February 1988 at Kerkewijk 10 in Veenendaal, a mid sized city in the Dutch province of Utrecht. Designed by architect Jan Sierts of Architectenbureau Wouda, the building was conceived as a cultural meeting place rather than a purely theatrical one. Its single auditorium seats 558 people, or 513 when an orchestra pit is installed, and the building also includes a foyer and an on site restaurant. In its early years the theatre doubled as a cinema and hosted film evenings organized by the local Christelijk Lyceum; in 2008 it briefly provided a temporary home for Filmhuis Veenendaal while that organisation found its footing. The name De Lampegiet comes from the Lampegietersavond, a traditional September festival in which children parade through Veenendaal carrying lanterns. The venue has long served as the primary theatre for the wider region, programming a range of performances in its single hall. Over the decades, however, the 1988 structure came to be seen as outdated and difficult to adapt to contemporary technical and sustainability standards. The municipality of Veenendaal has since approved a full replacement on the same site. The new building, designed by MVRDV in collaboration with Buro Happold, will contain three auditoriums of roughly 700, 200 and 100 seats, along with a foyer, café and back of house spaces. Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with completion targeted for 2029. The new design references both the Lampegietersavond tradition and Veenendaal's industrial textile history through a porous ceramic façade that illuminates the surrounding theatre square in the evening.