THEATER DE RICHEL

Theater de Richel has been collectively run by Nicoline, Timo, Rosa, Elisabeth, Patrick and Kyrian since 2024. These six young actors make satirical, topical plays in vaudeville style under the name of De Theatertroep.

Before there was a theater, many young Amsterdammers were already familiar with Café De Richel. De Theatertroep opened this establishment in November 2013 in the Nes, at number 71, in the front room of the formerly known Theater de Engelenbak. The name ‘de Richel’ referred, as a tribute to the Engelenbak, to the cheapest seats in a theater hall. In 2024, the theatertroepers became the theater directors of the formerly known Betty Asfalt Complex, and the café moved with them to the basement of this new establishment.

The two houses in which Theater de Richel is now located were the homes of mayors for centuries. The double building, Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 282 and 282A, consists of two houses under one list. The narrow left part, which was called Het Rechte Cromhout, can still be recognized in the facade. Until 1835, the building remained the property of the mayoral family Bickers. After that, it housed a renowned school and subsequently the cabaret theater Tingel Tangel. Until recently, the building was known as the Betty Asfalt Complex, a cultural foundation run by Paul Haenen and Dammie van Geest, who filled the rooms with a lot of cabaret, but also theater, music, film and literary evenings. In 2024, Paul and Dammie handed over the baton to theater collective De Theatertroep.