Ages, understandability and background

hetpaleis is a performing arts centre for young audiences. Our job is to encourage kids to experience the arts – as a viewer, as a conversation partner, as a participant and as a young artist. To create a show that young or younger audiences can (also) understand requires a constant dialogue with that young audience. It means we must not only talk about them, we must also talk to them. Children are involved in every hetpaleis production, whether in the preparatory research, the workshops, the read-throughs or the auditions. 

It is consequently also a given that we are very cautious when it comes to our recommended ages for a show. If you have any queries in this respect, please don’t hesitate to talk to us. We will be happy to explain how we settled on our target age groups. For family shows there is only a lower age limit – we are proud to give every member of a family a stimulating theatrical experience. An upper age limit does sometimes apply for school shows in order to guarantee that the right dynamic is present in the hall.

When we think that the (young) audience may need further guidance, we provide that in the form of a background package (online platform in Dutch with additional and substantive materials), workshops, programmes, introductions, etc. If you have any queries in respect of your specific audience, then please talk to us so that we can work together to find the perfect way to put on a show.