Theatre

Key figures

To numerically map the number of organizations, workers, income, the number of performances and attendance, and practice, various sources must be drawn upon. There are two sources that are collected structurally (on an annual basis) and nationally: 1) Performing Arts | CBS [CBS]) and 2) the Theater Analysis System [TAS] of the VSCD | By and for stagesThe CBS figures are partly based on figures from the TAS – in which the VSCD collects data from its affiliated members on an annual basis. In addition, the CBS collects additional data in order to obtain a more complete picture of the sector. Also DIP  offers more and more insight into ticket sales and audience data of their January and by means of the Leisure Omnibus we know more about the background characteristics of visitors and practitioners.

Number of rooms

According to CBS figures, there were 597 theatre venues in the Netherlands in 2024, with an audience capacity of 271 thousand places (seats or maximum permitted capacity) (CBS 2025a). More than half of these venues are owned by VSCD members: in 2024, 324 venues belonged to VSCD members, with a total of 134 thousand seats in that year (Siebe Weide Advies 2025). Despite overall growth in the number of venues and their capacity since 2017, fluctuations in the CBS figures are noticeable. For instance, there was a decrease in the number of venues from 2019 to 2020. Audience capacity also decreased in 2017 but remained constant in the subsequent years, only to rise again after 2020. Thus, while the number of venues has increased in recent years, audience capacity has fluctuated.

Number of performances and productions

From 2011 onwards, we see a gradual decline in the number of theatre performances (referring to the performances of artistic productions) in the Netherlands, with a sharp dip starting from the COVID-19 years (CBS 2025a). The decline from 2011 may be related, among other things, to the financial crisis of 2008 and the austerity measures that impacted the entire cultural sector from 2012 (Groot Nibbelink 2023). For other scenic performing arts, the number of performances remained approximately the same until the COVID-19 years. In 2024, the number of music theatre performances and the number of cabaret and small-scale performances exceed the 2019 level. The number of dance and movement performances remains approximately the same as the 2019 level, and the number of theatre performances is lower than before 2019. In the scenic performing arts, there is a distinction between the number of performances and the number of productions. The University of Amsterdam’s theatre collection (2025) includes data on the number of premieres of theatre productions in the Netherlands. For the 2024/2025 season, it can be seen that 978 productions by Dutch and Flemish producers premiered.

Visit performances

CBS figures show developments in the number of visits to scenic performing arts between 2005 and 2024 (CBS 2025a). Music theatre performances (3,4 million visits) and cabaret and cabaret performances (2,8 million visits) were the most popular in 2024. Notable is the gradual increase in the number of visits to these forms from 2013/2014 through 2019, whereas attendance at theatre performances gradually declined during the same period. Within all subdomains, a sharp decline in visitor numbers occurred during the corona years. In 2024, the number of visits for some domains rose above pre-corona levels, namely for dance and movement performances and cabaret and cabaret performances. Attendance at music theatre and theatre performances still lagged somewhat behind pre-corona levels. The Theatre Analysis System shows that most visits took place in the west of the country. This means that many people from other parts of the Netherlands likely visit theater in the Randstad (Siebe Weide Advies 2025).

Visitor characteristics

In recent years, more data has become available regarding the background characteristics of theatergoers. From figures from the Leisure omnibus (VTO) It appears that 50 percent of Dutch people aged 6 and older had attended at least one performance of scenic performing arts in 2024 (De Hoog et al. 2026). The largest shares of visitors are found among musicals, plays, and cabaret performances. Over the years, attendance at scenic performing arts is most dependent on gender, education level, and household income. There are also striking differences here per form of scenic performing arts. For instance, it was noted that women attend scenic performing arts more often in general, but that this applies particularly to musicals, plays, and dance performances. People who have completed HAVO/VWO/MBO or HBO/WO education also generally attend scenic performing arts more often, but the differences between visitor shares of different education levels are smallest for musicals and largest for cabaret performances (for more information on attendance at scenic performing arts and various background characteristics see Cultural Participation in Figures).

Festivals

With the Monitor Festivals and Concerts Respons maps festivals and concerts with more than 3000 visitors in the Netherlands, including attendance figures. In 2025, 135 theatre festivals took place in the Netherlands (Respons 2026). According to Respons' definition, the following art forms fall under the category of theatre festivals: cabaret/comedy, circus, dance/ballet, site-specific theatre, musical, opera/operetta, puppet theatre, street theatre, and drama. The majority of theatre festivals took place in South Holland in 2025, namely 25. Over the years, the number of theatre festivals has decreased – from 192 in 2019 to 135 in 2025. The number of theatre festival visits is also declining, from 4,8 million visits in 2019 to 2,9 million visits in 2025. Within the domain Music There is much talk about the increasing pressure on festivals – for example, due to rising personnel costs and regulatory pressure – however, it is not yet clear exactly what is at play in the domain of Theater.

Workers

Statistics Netherlands also maps the cultural labor market. For the performing arts (including MusicThis concerns, among other things, figures for 1) the total number of employed persons, 2) the number of jobs, and 3) the number of self-employed persons. Regarding the number of employed persons, no distinction can be made between different components of the performing arts sector based on available CBS figures (CBS 2025b). This is possible for the number of jobs and the number of self-employed persons (CBS 2025c). Therefore, we show differences in the number of jobs and the number of self-employed persons between performing arts practitioners, performing arts producers, and workers at venues.

Within the professional performing arts, 32.200 people were employed in 2024, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS 2025b). When viewed by type of employment, the number of volunteers and interns was the highest, followed by salaried employees and seconded staff. Over time, the number of salaried employees decreased slightly but increased again from 2022, while the share of volunteers and interns rose. This trend in the number of salaried employees could be partly attributed to stricter enforcement of the DBA Act by the tax authorities. Reports from the sector indicate that more employment contracts have been offered since the beginning of 2025 (Fleuren 2025). VSCD figures—concerning only workers at affiliated venues—show a similar distribution: the number of salaried employees is the largest, followed by the number of volunteers and the number of self-employed persons (Siebe Weide Advies 2025).

A striking trend is emerging within the number of jobs: while the number of jobs in the practice and production of performing arts has decreased slightly over the years, we see a clear increase in the number of jobs at theaters, playhouses, and concert halls compared to 2019. Whereas there were 6.060 jobs in 2019, this number stands at 7.740 in the third quartile of 2024 – an increase of 28 percent. Because categories at Statistics Netherlands have changed, we cannot look further back in time (CBS 2025c).

The share of self-employed persons has increased particularly in the practice of the performing arts, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) up to and including 2024 (CBS 2025c). This is all the more striking because these numbers are much lower in the production of performing arts and at theaters, playhouses, and concert halls, and have been declining since 2020. This could be related to the shortages of technicians in the performing arts sector following the pandemic (see, for example, Beeckmans 2022).

Income and subsidy flows

The Theater Analysis System provides insight into the revenue and subsidy streams for venues affiliated with the VSCD (Siebe Weide Advies 2025). The vast majority of funds (58 percent) came in via own income in 2023, but also from subsidies (42 percent). Subsidies come, just as for the domain Music, particularly from municipalities: 95 percent of all received subsidies come from municipalities. On the page Money flows We are mapping subsidy flows for the entire cultural sector. In earlier versions of this page, we already described major concerns regarding lagging revenues and ever-rising costs, including those caused by rising rents, personnel costs, and energy costs (Siebe Weide Advies 2025). This, combined with developments in the subsidy system, has significant consequences for the scenic performing arts (for more explanation, see the section 'Cost increases and the subsidy system' on this page).

Participation

From the VTO ​​figures The 2024 data – the last edition of this biennial questionnaire distributed among the Dutch population – showed that 40 percent of the Dutch population aged 6 and older engages in at least one performing arts activity annually (de Hoog et al. 2026). Some forms of performing arts are more popular than others. Playing an instrument (20 percent) and singing (29 percent) were the most frequent activities. A smaller proportion of the Dutch population engages in acting (6 percent), folk dance, world dance, or ballroom dance (6 percent), or classical ballet/modern dance (3 percent). Only 1 percent of the Dutch participated in cabaret or stand-up comedy in 2024. All these shares hardly change over the years. The analysis showed that performing arts participation was primarily undertaken by women, young people, and those with higher professional and university education. It also appears that Dutch people living in large cities engage in performing arts relatively more often (for more information see Cultural Participation in Figures).

De Monitor Amateur Art from the LKCA from 2023 also has data on performing arts practice and whether people do this in groups or take lessons. This showed that dance in particular is done in groups (31 percent), but also theater (12 percent) and musical, music theater and opera/operetta (10 percent) are practiced in groups. For acting, almost half of the practitioners take lessons (45 percent), for people who dance this is 34 percent of the practitioners and for music theater 27 percent.

Artistic freedom and activism

In the cultural sector and the scenic performing arts, there appear to be increasing concerns about artistic freedom, for example under pressure from censorship, public opinion, the media, and financiers. The Raad voor Cultuur issued the advice in 2026 Making (without) pressure  addresses artistic freedom and the increased pressure experienced in the cultural sector, in order to provide insight into underlying patterns. The advice offers various courses of action for governments, the cultural field, and education as public intermediaries (Raad voor Cultuur 2026a).

The winter issue of the Boekman magazine is also dedicated to artistic freedomLars Ebert, Secretary-General of Culture Action Europe, the advocacy group for the cultural sector at the European level, maps out the state of artistic freedom in our continent. According to human rights organization ARTICLE 19, artistic freedom is 'less restricted' in only a small number of European countries, and only in Hungary is the situation described as 'restricted'. However, Ebert counters this by stating that, due to a lack of targeted legislation—unlike in media policy, for example—artistic freedom is vulnerable to pressure. He calls on the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to the annual Rule of Law Report to sign the EU document in which this subject is included and to support the EU Artistic Freedom Act to be developed (Ebert 2025).

Social movements are also responded to within theatre performances. In the now-traditional overview article in the Theatre Yearbook In the article in which one of the editors speaks to the various VSCD juries about what struck them, theatre journalist Shira Keller records the findings they share. What strikes them is that much work in the scenic performing arts field concerns the state of the planet and of society. The political situation at home and ongoing wars are identified as a major driver for a more assertive positioning by performing artists. This creates – according to the VSCD juries – a distinctly activist tone (Keller 2025). Outside the theatre, too, various institutions and individuals are taking a stand. From the broader cultural sector, including theatres and actors, for example, a boycott of the State of Israel was initiated in October 2025 in response to the war in Gaza and out of solidarity with the Palestinian population. More than 800 Dutch and Belgian artists and 300 institutions signed a letter stating that they would not enter into cooperation with complicit organizations (Beeckmans 2025c).

To offer theaters and makers guidance in carefully weighing artistic freedom, safety, core values, and social responsibility, Kunsten '92 presented the program in 2025 together with the Verwey-Jonker Institute. Resilient cultural sector in times of polarization. This report specifically mentions experiences within youth theatre (companies) – where it is observed that parents, schools, and young people increasingly react negatively to performances. For example, they walk out, schools cancel performances, or do not show up. Sometimes young people shout things during performances in protest, or throw things at actors (Peeters-Osseyran et al. 2026). Part of the report is a more practical Guidance for a Resilient Cultural Sector. Aimed at the cultural sector in a broad sense, this addresses ways to anticipate incidents, act during tensions, and provide appropriate aftercare for involved staff, creators, and the public (Peeters-Osseyran et al. 2026).

De-compartmentalization

In performing arts, various disciplines regularly come together in a single work. For example, circus and dance, theatre and dance, or theatre and music. This development is often described as 'de-compartmentalization', whereby the boundaries between disciplines blur. At the same time, there is debate regarding the extent to which this is actually a dominant practice: according to some, interdisciplinary work remains limited and much work and training still takes place within separate disciplines (Lems 2025).

Nevertheless, much has already been set in motion in recent years. For instance, Fonds Podiumkunsten has been moving along with this trend since 2017, after in Boekman Magazine #109 A year earlier, calls were made for politicians and grant providers to adapt. Interdisciplinary collaboration and co-productions were hampered within the subsidy system of the National Culture Funds because funding had to be applied for within a specific discipline, leading to a preference for private funds (Haeren 2019; Brom et al. 2019). Within the Performing Arts Fund, a start was made with the application round for project subsidies in 2017 and seemed completed with the assessment of the multi-year subsidy applications for 2025–2028 by fully integrated advisory committees.

However, the commotion following the results led to unrest among applicants: expertise was allegedly too narrowly allocated, resulting in unbalanced recommendations. An example is the recommendation regarding the dance company. Another Kind of Blue. In the applicant's notice of objection, it was stated that the dance specialist on the advisory committee had judged negatively in virtually identical terms to those used in her reviews. The applicant accused the committee of bias; the court ruled in favor of the applicant on appeal (Beeckmans 2026).

To watch the Raad voor Cultuur has the de-compartmentalization been the reason to include in the advice as early as 2024 Access to Culture recommended to take a broader look at the grant application procedure, as part of the field is not being adequately represented within the demanding written procedures that currently provide access to subsidies (Raad voor Cultuur 2024).

Archiving

The performing arts are often characterized as ephemeral: a performance exists primarily at the time of execution and is not easily preserved. This is a fundamental difference from, for example, literature and visual arts, in which the work typically exists in a lasting, tangible form—a book, a sculpture, or a photographic print. This makes the archiving of performing arts complex. After all, the performance itself cannot be preserved. Individual elements, however, can: sets, costumes, posters, scripts, or text booklets. Records are also a form of archiving. Consequently, the preservation of repertoire and knowledge is not a given, but an explicit task for the sector and policymakers.

There are various institutions involved in the archiving of performing arts. Since the dissolution of the Theatre Institute Netherlands in 2012, it manages Allard Pierson Museum the archive collection. Led by Hans van Keulen until 2025, Sylvia Alting van Geusau is now taking over (Van der Putt 2025). In addition, she maintains Podiumkunst.net engaged in digital archiving in the field (see more on the page Heritage about digital heritage), but certainly also with analog collections and with the dancer's body as an archive. Regarding the latter, the organization organized in collaboration with the Dutch Dance Days and the Dance library on October 4, the event 'Performing the Archive' in Maastricht for the third time (Podiumkunst.net 2025).

The archiving of the performing arts is also carried out by performing arts institutions themselves. In dance, for example, the archive also lies in the transmission of dance from generation to generation. The dancers' bodies then function as an archive themselves. Viewed in this light, performing repertoire is a form of heritage preservation. That heritage encompasses not only the classical repertoire. Two icons in the Dutch and international dance field passed away this year: Krisztina de Châtel in June, and Hans van Manen in December. The work from their long careers is still being danced – as late as 2025. Typhoon of De Châtel and Squares of Van Manens by Introdans. The archive of artists such as Van Manen and De Châtel is partly kept alive by the aforementioned dance companies.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

The program Theatre yearbook In an article by Iris Peters, attention is paid to the state of affairs regarding inclusion and diversity in theatre programmes, particularly the inclusion of creators and actors with disabilities. Progress appears to be being made: more creators with disabilities are visible on stage, their performances are reviewed more frequently and win awards. At the same time, there still seem to be many barriers. For instance, theatre training programmes are not always structured in such a way that people with disabilities can easily find and attend them, and creators and performers with disabilities do not automatically have an equal starting position in the theatre field (Peters, 2025).

These developments do not stand alone. Diversity, equity and inclusion have long formed a common thread within the performing arts. Persistent problems such as institutional racism and a lack of representation in positions of power are still being raised within the sector. This is what the research shows. Theater Inclusief observe that the extent to which D&I policy is implemented varies significantly by theater (Haeren et al. 2022). International perspectives also show that structural inequality continues to play a role. In Decolonizing the Theater Space: A Conversation Artistic leaders from Europe, North America, and Africa share their experiences. Samora Bergtop, a Dutch actress and theater maker, also describes the Dutch context in the book’s introduction: “There are not that many of us [Black arts leaders and companies led by Black people] in the infrastructure of the Dutch theater landscape. But I must say, I stand on the shoulders of giants, because there was a history of Black theaters in the Netherlands before us. However, if something is built up, it is torn down by the system. As a result, we have to continuously build up.” This was further emphasized by the fact that various organizations – such as HipHopHuis, Theatergroep RAST, and Podium Mozaïek – were no longer included in the multi-year subsidies (Smit 2024).

At the same time, various initiatives have been established in recent years to promote diversity and inclusion. For instance, incentive measures were introduced as early as 2019, including prizes and programs aimed at inclusion (Beeckmans, 2019; Theater Inclusief, 2019), and platforms and communities emerged that are committed to a more diverse theater practice, such as The Need for Legacy (Beeckmans, 2020). A shift is also visible within the broader discourse in the performing arts. Whereas earlier seasons were characterized by attention to polyphony and representation, the focus has recently shifted to themes such as parenthood, gender, and transgressive behavior (Rijghard 2023, 2024; Embrechts et al. 2024). In this context, institutional changes were also implemented, such as gender-inclusive theatre awards. At the same time, there is criticism that such measures do not automatically lead to equal opportunities, because underlying inequalities in roles, positions, and access persist (Beeckmans, 2023).

One of the most visible yet simultaneously underexposed dimensions of this discussion concerns bodily diversity. Within theatre education and performing arts practice, there is increasing questioning of how normative ideas about the 'suitable' body originated historically and how these can be challenged. This is particularly relevant in disciplines where the body is central, such as mime and dance. Both students and teachers explore how existing frameworks can be broadened, including through attention to different bodily and neurological realities (Van der Jagt, 2024). This is also the case within research groups, such as the research group Embodied Knowledge in Theatre and DanceResearch is being conducted into the role of embodied knowledge in relation to education and artistic practice.

Against this backdrop, companies focusing on creating with and by people with disabilities are also taking the initiative themselves. They are developing their own training practices for actors and dancers, with an eye to both daily reality and the artistic possibilities of people with diverse bodies and perspectives. The sector is in a transition in this regard, in which companies such as Misiconi, Playful Collective, Theater Babel en Tiuri Company play a pioneering role. At the initiative of PodiumInc, the State of the Inclusive Performing Arts was delivered for the second time in December 2025, this time by Compagnie Tiuri, with specific attention to talent development.

Although the Netherlands signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2016, practice remains challenging. According to advocacy group Stichting PodiumINC, the Netherlands lags behind other European countries regarding inclusion in the performing arts. A lack of knowledge and information constitutes a major barrier in this regard, meaning that both creators and audiences with disabilities cannot always participate fully in art and culture. Initiatives such as the manifesto Artists with disabilities take the stage underscore the urgency of addressing these structural barriers (Van Dijk, 2025).

Cost increases and the subsidy system

The Schoof cabinet did not strictly speaking cut spending on culture. Nevertheless, less and less money is available for the production and programming of scenic performing arts. This is due, on the one hand, to rising costs in virtually all areas in recent years, from rising purchasing prices to personnel costs, and the absence of indexation (Siebe Weide Advies 2024). Although the rent for concert halls and theaters increased in recent years, it remained virtually unchanged in 2024 (Siebe Weide Advies 2025). On the other hand, the Raad voor Cultuur in the opinion Everyone their share see that while cultural spending has increased in absolute terms, it has decreased as a share of total government spending. Since 2005, the sector has lost 500 million euros compared to other sectors (for more information see page Culture and Financial Flows).

The results of the 2025-2028 grant round of the Performing Arts Fund increased the pressure on the scenic performing arts. The Fund processed many more applications in this round than four years ago: for the 2021-2024 period, there were 200 applications, while in the 2025-2028 round, 273 institutions applied for multi-year funding. There were also fewer places to allocate because higher amounts were standardized per institution as a fair practice measure (Van den Berg 2024). Because there were fewer awards in total in this funding round, with the same number of new organizations as in previous funding rounds, there was a relatively larger number of rejections in this round (Van den Berg et al. 2025). Particularly among mid-career professionals, there were many applicants who received a negative recommendation or fell below the cut-off line: a positive recommendation in itself, but too low on the ranking list and therefore outside the budget. Many of them lodged an objection against the decision of the Performing Arts Fund; among others Orkater, The Warm Shop, Suburbia en Dutch Opera, after which the Fund had to redo the judge's recommendation (Janssens and Embrechts 2026).

In the dance sector, the negative effects of the recent funding round on the ecosystem are becoming more visible. Of the 27 dance companies supported by the Performing Arts Fund, 10 companies were cut in this funding round. By 2024, one company had already ceased operations, four new companies had joined, leaving only 20 dance companies in total (Ben-Tal et al. 2024). From the field – for example in the annual State of the Dance – concerns are emerging regarding the increasingly difficult flow within the ecosystem: “from training to maker, from young talent to (inter)national elite, from house to company, from education to participation, from youth to amateur, from production to festival and from stage to audience.” (Embrechts, 2025). In May 2025, this cry for help translated into a letter from the assembled dance field, supported by the trade association NAPK, containing concrete recommendations to then-Minister Bruins for the new arts plan period starting in 2029. Among other things, they advocate for strengthening mid-career makers, enhanced regional cooperation within a chain approach, better coordination between grant providers, and more space for diverse makers (Beeckmans 2025b).

The increasing pressure on the system and the outcomes of recent subsidy rounds are fueling broader criticism of the current subsidy system, both within the cultural sector as a whole and in the scenic performing arts in particular. This criticism took shape in January 2026 in a letter of advice to then Minister Moes of Education, Culture and Science: the Advice on amending the Act on Specific Cultural Policy (Raad voor Cultuur 2026b). In this document, the Council proposes extending the cycle of the National Cultural Policy for the 'small BIS' – institutions directly funded by the Minister – from four to eight years. A longer subsidy period would reduce administrative burdens, enable the development of long-term visions, and increase the attractiveness for co-financing. This extension should explicitly not apply to institutions subsidized by the Performing Arts Fund, as flexibility, the influx of new initiatives, and differentiation in funding periods are central to that sector. In relation to rising costs, the Council also advocates for the statutory anchoring of indexation. As in the Media Act, this compensation for wage and price increases should be structurally established to enable sustainable operations.

Social safety

In recent years, various reports of transgressive behavior have emerged within the cultural sector, particularly in arts education and the performing arts (Leden 2021; Pama 2024). Recent examples include the International Theatre Amsterdam (ITA), where an extensive investigation into the work culture was conducted following reports of transgressive behavior (Olfers et al. 2024), and Theaterhuis Likeminds, where several theatre makers left due to the director's transgressive behavior (Borg 2023). Transgressive behavior also frequently came to the fore in theatre productions – which was also cited as one of the important developments in the offering by the NRC in its review of the 2023/2024 season (Rijghard 2024).

Further investigation into transgressive behavior was conducted at both Theaterhuis Likeminds and ITA. Although the results of this investigation at Likeminds were not made public, it was concluded that transgressive behavior was likely to have occurred and that this was also related to the position of the general director (Beeckmans 2024). In 2024, the results of a cultural study at ITA were also released (Olfers et al. 2024). Although this concerns only one organization in the theater world, it does provide insight into organizational cultures and social safety in parts of the sector. In total, 285 (former) employees of ITA completed a questionnaire – 43 percent of the total number of employees in 2021. Based on the research findings, transgressive behavior was linked to two factors characteristic of the performing arts in the broader sense: 1) performance and workload pressure and 2) a hierarchical structure with an (in)formal character. In the summer of 2024, it was announced that ITA was ending its collaboration with Ivo van Hove – who until then had been the company's artistic director – and that the supervisory board was stepping down (Borg et al. 2024). In 2025, supervisory boards and their role were widely in the spotlight, for example in the report Supervision in the cultural sector: an art in itself Raad voor Cultuur (see more on page Professional practice).

In the advice Across the border: towards a shared culture. from June 2022 the map Raad voor Cultuur a lack of structures aimed at social security. Also from a research from 2023 on social safety in higher art and fashion education of the Education Inspectorate showed that the relevant boards of universities of applied sciences do have a sense of urgency and take responsibility for the social safety of students by taking various measures, but that in general they are not far with plan development, monitoring, evaluation and adjustment of the goals and measures for social safety (Education Inspectorate 2023). Many new steps are now being taken in the sector. For example, Sheralynn Adriaansz has been the new director of Theaterhuis Likeminds since the beginning of 2025, where she wants to focus on a safe working atmosphere, collaboration and talent development (Janssens 2025). Also in the Theatre yearbook 2023/2024 will reflect on social safety in higher arts education. Theatre courses will address the broader issues through, among other things, participation councils and evaluation moments in which students participate (also called 'quality assurance') and a code of conduct that all teachers must adhere to (Heerikhuizen 2021).

Social safety is also being worked on outside of education. For example, in the autumn of 2021, the NAPK published the policy framework 'Safe on the floor' to prevent unwanted behaviour in the performing arts sector (NAPK 2021a). The policy framework offers tools to institutions and performing arts producers to prevent unwanted behaviour and to formulate their own policy on this (NAPK 2021b). Following this, the Social Safety Performing Arts Foundation established by the NAPK in the spring of 2022. This foundation supports NAPK members in developing and implementing policies in the field of social security (NAPK 2022). The dance world also saw the report Shadow dancing: an investigation into transgressive behavior in dancing, on transgressive behavior in the dance sector, the alliance DansVeilig was founded (Lubberding 2025). Mores.online, the independent reporting center for undesirable behavior in the cultural and creative sector, was founded in 2018 to handle the growing number of reports (RCGOG 2023, Mores.online 2023).

Fair practice

In 2017, the Fair Practice Code was launched. This Code focuses on a number of core values: solidarity, diversity, trust, sustainability and transparency. Fair Pay is also part of this. On the page Professional practice let us show that the position of self-employed persons on the labor market is uncertain (Vinken et al. 2023). Also from the report Unequally affected, unequally supported: effects of the corona crisis in the cultural sectorIt became apparent that self-employed professionals in particular were bearing the brunt of the corona crisis. For the theatre sector, this is particularly problematic because many people work here as freelancers. Among practitioners and producers of performing arts, there were 24 self-employed entrepreneurs in 2023 – which, after Creative Arts, is the largest number of self-employed persons in the Arts and Cultural Heritage subsector (CBS 2025c).

Platform ACCT committed to improving the position of workers in the cultural and creative sector. In 2020, they investigated the sustainability of performing artists' careers (SFPK et al. 2020). This revealed that dancers, circus artists, singers, and musicians alike often engage in such demanding professions that they are unable to continue working until retirement age. This is due to both physical and mental strain. For actors, this is also related to circumstances in which actors become more expensive as they get older, there are few permanent positions with theatre companies, and actors are constantly looking for work. Performing artists, like other artistic professions, are highly intrinsically motivated (see page Professional practice) – but in doing so, sustainable working conditions sometimes seem to lose out (SFPK et al. 2020). The report also makes suggestions to improve working conditions – which also require financial support – but it is unclear whether and how these results have been taken up. Within other domains, chain tables have also been developed by Platform ACCT in recent years, including for various subsectors within Music, but not yet for other (sub)sectors within the performing arts.

Even before the corona crisis, the sector felt little concern for independent theater makers. For example, it sets Creative Coalition has been committed to decent revenue sharing for makers since 2019, see here their appeal to the House. Also Platform Start has been advocating for more ongoing and sector-wide dialogues since that year, with a scope ranging from (independent) lighting designer to director of a BIS company. In addition to the lack of support for freelancers in the theatre field, a lack of transparency regarding subsidy awards is also noted (Groen 2020). For instance, it is not clear enough to some makers on what grounds their subsidy is rejected (Ibid.), even though transparency and trust are two of the five core values ​​of the Fair Practice Code (Fair Practice Code 2021). In early 2026, the Fair Practice Guide launched to support applicants in incorporating the Fair Practice Code into their application.

Sustainability

Within the sector, increasing attention is being paid to issues surrounding SustainabilityCompared to other domains, the theater world appears to have started addressing issues surrounding sustainability and ecology relatively late (Van Baarle 2023). Van Baarle (2023) shows that ecology and climate were not central themes in European or North American theater until the beginning of this century. Various new forms of theater also developed within this context, such as 'ecodramaturgy', which focuses on ecological reciprocity and community as themes (Van Baarle 2023).

In addition to being a theme within theatre performances, there is also attention for adjustments in production processes and work practices. On the one hand, this concerns smaller adjustments, such as using plants instead of flowers at premieres or less use of copied material. On the other hand, it also concerns dealing with the entire programming chain in a more sustainable way, and for example keeping performances within the repertoire for longer. Theatre Green Book plays an important role in this. What started as a collective for theatre makers in the United Kingdom developed into an international network. From the Netherlands, the NAPK is affiliated, but it is Theatre Green Book also used as a guideline within individual organizations such as the Zuidelijk Toneel (Lubberding 2024).

The research report conducted by the Boekman Foundation was published in December 2025. Sustainability in the cultural sectorThis reveals the sector's growing ambition to become more sustainable. However, the problem is that organizations often struggle to translate intentions into actual measures. The causes are a lack of resources, time, knowledge, or support (Schiavone et al. 2025).