Eva van Manen

Het Klooster in Woerden is a theater and music venue housed in a former monastery on the Wilhelminaweg. The building dates from 1899, when it was put up for the Franciscan order. It stayed in religious hands for most of the twentieth century, until the local government took ownership in the late 1970s, which opened the way for the complex to find a new life as a cultural address. Today it is listed among the historical highlights of Woerden, and the monastery origins still shape how the place looks and feels. As a venue it works mainly as a theater, and visitors to Woerden are pointed to it as a place to catch a show. The programming is varied rather than tied to one genre. Concert listings for the venue collect past performances with photos, videos and setlists, which shows it has a track record as a place where touring and local acts play. It also hosts classical and early music events, and has been used by opera festivals. One example is a daytime performance of an Italian program built around the sound of water and earth, staged there as part of a festival. The setting is a large part of its character. Performing in a converted religious building gives concerts a different atmosphere from a purpose built hall or a standard club, and the connection to the town's history is easy to see. Woerden is a small city in the province of Utrecht, and Het Klooster sits among its notable older buildings, which makes it as much a local landmark as a place for an evening out.