DeLaMar Theater: Theater in Leidsebuurt, Amsterdam

★★★★★ 4.7

DeLaMar is a theatre complex on the Marnixstraat in Amsterdam, a two-minute walk from Leidseplein, with two halls of roughly 950 and 600 seats. Come for musicals, plays and cabaret with Dutch names, plus concerts, dance and shows for children. The two halls are named after Wim Sonneveld and Mary Dresselhuys, and they run on a mainstream programme of musicals, comedy, spoken theatre and family shows. You cannot pay cash anywhere in the building. Café DeLaMar has its own small stage, with live music by young jazz, pop and classical musicians after some shows, and you do not need a theatre ticket to walk in. The theatre takes its name from Nap de la Mar, father of cabaret performer Fien de la Mar. Her husband, architect Piet Grossouw, turned a fire-damaged former school into a theatre here in 1947. Wim Sonneveld took over in 1952 and renamed it the Nieuwe De la Mar Theater, which became known for his shows, Wim Kan's political cabaret and musicals by Annie M.G. Schmidt. The present building, designed by Arno Meijs and Jo Coenen, opened on 28 November 2010 as an initiative of the VandenEnde Foundation of Joop and Janine van den Ende. The box office opens two and a half hours before the performance on show days and closes when the last show starts. The staffed cloakroom is free, and bags larger than A4 go there rather than into the hall. Shows are aimed at audiences of 16 and over unless stated otherwise. Each hall has two wheelchair places with a seat for a companion. Trams 5, 7 and 19 stop right in front of the theatre, and trams 1, 2, 17 and 24 stop at the Leidseplein, three minutes' walk away.