After it was announced in June that Theatres Diligentia and PePijn were in danger of being excluded from the allocation of the Multiannual Subsidies for Arts and Culture 2025-2028, regular and esteemed host of the theatres Ruub Petow started a petition to keep the theatres’ doors open. This petition was officially handed over to Alderman Saskia Bruines of Finance, Culture and Economy recently.
Ruub Petow handed the petition to alderman Bruines on the Diligentia stage. The petition has been signed 14,911 times in about two months. With his involvement, Ruub wants to stress that ‘people should not forget that a night out is more than an hour and a half in a theatre hall.’
Prior to the handover, a unique hall programme took place at Diligentia, where several artists performed. These included Sanne Wallis de Vries presenting the programme and cabaret artist Dolf Jansen reciting a column.
Theatres Diligentia and PePijn applied for a subsidy of €1.125 million. Despite the Advisory Committee giving a positive advice, the theatres are at risk of not receiving any contribution at all, as they fall under the so-called saw line.
The Municipal Executive is expected to make a final decision on the distribution of the Multi-Year Grants on 10 September. If the advice is adopted in full by the college, this means that The Hague’s premier cabaret theatres will lose their subsidy from 2025 and will have to close their doors.
Theatres Diligentia & PePijn
Diligentia and Theater PePijn are the stages for cabaret in the Netherlands. The theatres in the centre of The Hague have versatile and colourful programming full of artists who each use humour to tell their story in their own unique way.