When the afternoons turn dark and wet, a show is the easy plan. We checked the stages that put kids first: a puppet theater that has played every week since 1960, theater made for toddlers, the circus tents that come to town in fall and winter, and the holiday shows. The theaters stay on the list all year; the dated cards change with the season.
Kooman's Poppentheater has played puppet shows every week since 1960, which makes it the oldest permanent puppet theater in the Netherlands. The puppets, sets and songs are all made in-house, and the nine children's shows follow Wasco the raccoon and his friends through new adventures.
The shows are cheerful and mildly suspenseful, with plenty of laughs, and not too babyish for older kids.
Laaktheater is a neighborhood theater with a round, steeply raked hall, and the venue says every seat has a clear view. The program mixes toddler shows, youth theater and dance with music, film and comedy, much of it made with people who live in Laak.
Kids can also join theater lessons or Bollywood dance classes, and school holidays bring festivals like Krokus Kabaal and Festival De Betovering.
Rapunzel is a Christmas pantomime performed in English by AATG, using a script by pantomime writer Alex Jackson.
The cast came through auditions and includes a junior chorus of kids alongside the adult and dance choruses. A good pick for families who want a holiday show their kids can follow in English.
De Club van Sinterklaas, the crew from the Dutch Sinterklaas films, puts on a new musical stage show each year, with Sinterklaas making an entrance. Kids sing and dance along to the Club's hits, with live music, humor and fireworks.
The party starts at the door with a Pieten band, then a Pieten disco in the hall. It is all in Dutch, so it suits kids who know the songs.
The Hague's Christmas circus returns to a heated big top on the Malieveld with an all-new show. More than 20 artists from around the world take the ring: a Colombian high-wire troupe, an all-female Hungarian teeterboard team, a 12-ring juggler, a contortionist, a classic clown, dancing border collies and a musician who plays five flutes at once. Dutch singer Enza, from The Winner Takes It All, sings during the show.
Om en Om en Om is a theater show for the very youngest. Karlijn and Bram set off on an adventure in a theater tent where everything spins: an umbrella, a hoop, a chair, the world. In all that spinning, they lose each other.
There are few words, just movement, music and singing. When the last spin is done, the children get to twirl and dance themselves.
De Betovering is The Hague's international art festival for children, filling the autumn holidays with theater, dance and hands-on workshops. Shows from the Netherlands and abroad play at theaters across the city, while museums, community centers and cultural institutions run workshops.
At the festival center, kids can join GUMLAB: trade a bit of information about yourself for a shiny gum ball, then chew along toward a shared artwork.
Circus Chapito pitches its big top in the Zuiderpark for the fall break, with a classic red-velvet ring and a lineup of international acts. Kids watch a flying trapeze troupe, a juggler, clown Berty Balder, a dog and pigeon act, a world-champion bubble artist and a laser and drone show. Before the show, the foyer tent has face painting and circus props kids can try.
De Parade is a theater festival that sets up in the Westbroekpark with a full program of shows, workshops and activities for kids and grown-ups alike.
Between shows, kids can take a ride on the Zweef, rock in the swing boats and bake their own poffertjes. Many shows are marked "No Dutch Required", so it works for families still learning the language.
When the afternoons turn dark and wet, a show is the easy plan. We checked the stages that put kids first: a puppet theater that has played every week since 1960, theater made for toddlers, the circus tents that come to town in fall and winter, and the holiday shows. The theaters stay on the list all year; the dated cards change with the season.
Kooman's Poppentheater has played puppet shows every week since 1960, which makes it the oldest permanent puppet theater in the Netherlands. The puppets, sets and songs are all made in-house, and the nine children's shows follow Wasco the raccoon and his friends through new adventures.
The shows are cheerful and mildly suspenseful, with plenty of laughs, and not too babyish for older kids.
Laaktheater is a neighborhood theater with a round, steeply raked hall, and the venue says every seat has a clear view. The program mixes toddler shows, youth theater and dance with music, film and comedy, much of it made with people who live in Laak.
Kids can also join theater lessons or Bollywood dance classes, and school holidays bring festivals like Krokus Kabaal and Festival De Betovering.
Rapunzel is a Christmas pantomime performed in English by AATG, using a script by pantomime writer Alex Jackson.
The cast came through auditions and includes a junior chorus of kids alongside the adult and dance choruses. A good pick for families who want a holiday show their kids can follow in English.
De Club van Sinterklaas, the crew from the Dutch Sinterklaas films, puts on a new musical stage show each year, with Sinterklaas making an entrance. Kids sing and dance along to the Club's hits, with live music, humor and fireworks.
The party starts at the door with a Pieten band, then a Pieten disco in the hall. It is all in Dutch, so it suits kids who know the songs.
The Hague's Christmas circus returns to a heated big top on the Malieveld with an all-new show. More than 20 artists from around the world take the ring: a Colombian high-wire troupe, an all-female Hungarian teeterboard team, a 12-ring juggler, a contortionist, a classic clown, dancing border collies and a musician who plays five flutes at once. Dutch singer Enza, from The Winner Takes It All, sings during the show.
Om en Om en Om is a theater show for the very youngest. Karlijn and Bram set off on an adventure in a theater tent where everything spins: an umbrella, a hoop, a chair, the world. In all that spinning, they lose each other.
There are few words, just movement, music and singing. When the last spin is done, the children get to twirl and dance themselves.
De Betovering is The Hague's international art festival for children, filling the autumn holidays with theater, dance and hands-on workshops. Shows from the Netherlands and abroad play at theaters across the city, while museums, community centers and cultural institutions run workshops.
At the festival center, kids can join GUMLAB: trade a bit of information about yourself for a shiny gum ball, then chew along toward a shared artwork.
Circus Chapito pitches its big top in the Zuiderpark for the fall break, with a classic red-velvet ring and a lineup of international acts. Kids watch a flying trapeze troupe, a juggler, clown Berty Balder, a dog and pigeon act, a world-champion bubble artist and a laser and drone show. Before the show, the foyer tent has face painting and circus props kids can try.
De Parade is a theater festival that sets up in the Westbroekpark with a full program of shows, workshops and activities for kids and grown-ups alike.
Between shows, kids can take a ride on the Zweef, rock in the swing boats and bake their own poffertjes. Many shows are marked "No Dutch Required", so it works for families still learning the language.
