Evenitto's guide · Flanders and Brussels
From the KVS and De Munt in Brussels to the Bourla in Antwerp, the Schouwburg of NTGent in Ghent and the Stadsschouwburg in Bruges: the houses that stage the shows we know of.
City theatre & new work
The KVS, the Royal Flemish Theatre, is Brussels' Dutch-language city theatre, in a Flemish neo-Renaissance building of 1887 by the architect Jean Baes. Its stages play in the languages of the city, and shows often carry surtitles in another language.
Opera
De Munt / La Monnaie in Brussels is the opera house of the country. The present auditorium was inaugurated on 25 May 1819, and a performance of Auber's La Muette de Portici there in August 1830 gave the signal for the Belgian Revolution. About 1,150 seats.
Puppet theatre
The Théâtre Royal de Toone is a Brussels puppet theatre that traces its roots to around 1830, when Antoine Genty, called Toone, opened his poechenellekelder. Shows are given in the Brussels dialect and in other languages, and the Brussels rod-puppet tradition was added to UNESCO's list of intangible heritage in 2025.
Toneelhuis
The Bourla, built in 1827–1834 to a neoclassical design by the city architect Pierre Bruno Bourla, is Antwerp's historic theatre. It still has its wooden stage machinery of 1834 and is the home of Toneelhuis.
Musicals & big tours
The Stadsschouwburg Antwerpen on the Theaterplein is the big stage for musicals and touring productions, with room for up to 2,000 people in the main auditorium. It is run by be•at, which also runs the Capitole in Ghent.
Opera & ballet
The neo-baroque opera house on the Frankrijklei was designed by the city architect Alexis Van Mechelen and opened on 17 October 1907. It is a listed monument and one of the two houses of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, with the opera house in Ghent, which is closed for renovation.
Theatre, dance & music
deSingel is Antwerp's international arts campus on the Desguinlei, a protected building by the architect Léon Stynen, with a first phase finished in 1968. Theatre, dance and music play in its halls, and its theatre and dance studios show new work.
NTGent
The Koninklijke Nederlandse Schouwburg on the Sint-Baafsplein was built in 1897–1899 to a design by Edmond De Vigne and has been a listed monument since 1986. Its main hall, the Groot Huis, is the home of NTGent.
Musicals & big tours
The Capitole on the Graaf van Vlaanderenplein was a cinema until 1986 and reopened as a theatre on 28 October 2001 with the musical Camelot. It stages musicals, concerts, comedy and dance, and is run by be•at.
Children's & youth theatre
Kopergietery in a former copper foundry on the Blekerijstraat began in 1978 as Speelteater Gent and is Ghent's theatre for children and young people.
Theatre, dance & concerts
The Stadsschouwburg Brugge on the Vlamingstraat was built in 1867–1869 to a design by Gustave Saintenoy, restored in 2001 and has about 700 seats. Cultuurcentrum Brugge runs it, with theatre, dance and concerts.
City theatre
30CC is the umbrella name, since 2005, of Leuven's cultural venues. 30CC/Schouwburg on the Bondgenotenlaan is the city's main theatre; the Wagehuys and the Minnepoort are the other halls.
City theatre
The Stadsschouwburg Mechelen on the Keizerstraat is part of Cultuurcentrum Mechelen and the city's theatre in the historic centre.
Every theatre and stage with shows in the next twelve months.
