The Rotterdamsch Tooneel (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

Theatre) was a

theatre company founded in 1900 and which was dissolved in 1923.

History

Because its name is fairly generic, there were other theatres in

history which were known by the same name. This twentieth century ''Rotterdamsch Tooneel'' was formed out an older theatre company, ''De Vereenigde Rotterdamsche Tooneelisten'' which had existed since 1884. In 1900 it was refounded as ''Rotterdamsch Tooneel''. The theatre had a progressive reputation and mainly performed new Dutch repertoire, including

Multatuli Eduard Douwes Dekker (2 March 182019 February 1887), better known by his pen name Multatuli (from Latin ''multa tulī'', "I have suffered much"), was a Dutch writer best known for his satirical novel ''Max Havelaar'' (1860), which denounced the a ...

's ''Vorstenschool'' and the works of Jan Fabricius and J. van Randwijk. Their repertoire also included new foreign pieces, such as ''Zaken zijn zaken'' by

Octave Mirbeau Octave Henri Marie Mirbeau (; 16 February 1848 – 16 February 1917) was a French novelist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, journalist and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, whilst still app ...

Liebelei by

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. He is considered one of the most significant representatives of Viennese Modernism. Schnitzler’s works, which include psychological dramas and narratives ...

and

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage.Meyer, Michael Lever ...

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

. The troupe was considered to have a very high quality of productions. According to one 1925 obituary for one of its former actors, no matter which of the successive directors was running it during its prime, it had a recognizable style that was on part with any theatre in the country or even the world. During its period of operation, actors associated with the ''Rotterdamsch Tooneel'' included Dick van Veen, Frits Tartaud, Piet Bron, Jan van Ees, Richard Flink, Cor van der Lugt Melsert, Else Mauhs, Alida Tartaud-Klein, and Jules Verstraete. After World War I, public interest had diminished to such an extent that the group could only survive by merging with the ''Hague Hofstad Tooneel'' in 1923. The theaters merged under the new name ''Vereenigd Rotterdamsch-Hofstad Tooneel''.

References

{{Reflist Theatre companies in the Netherlands Former theatres in the Netherlands