Soldier of Orange (Dutch: Soldaat van Oranje) is the longest running and very successful Dutch musical production. The musical premiered on 30 October 2010, in a theatre that was purpose-built for the production on a former air base near The Hague (in an old hangar). The Dutch production company NEW Productions always wanted to bring the musical to London and after years of planning the perfect site for a new purpose-built theatre to be built was identified in the Royal Docks near London City Airport. The new theatre will form part of a new cultural quarter in London.

FVD Consulting was commissioned, as an Anglo-Dutch consultancy based in London, to support the planning application process for the new theatre (Royal Docks Theatre). This included meeting planning officers and the researching for and development of the community engagement offer to the London Borough of Newham (including employment opportunities, access at reduced ticket tariffs and collaboration opportunities with the education and cultural sector in the borough).

The theatre obtained planning consent in February 2020 and Soldier of Orange was set to have its British première in London in spring 2021, a few months after the 10-year anniversary of the Dutch production, however the production was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. See press release here.

Soldier of Orange / Soldaat van Oranje

The musical is based on the true story of Dutch World War II resistance fighter Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema. In the 1970s, he wrote his experiences down in a book and director Paul Verhoeven made it into a 1977 film, starring actor Rutger Hauer.

Image Credits

All images courtesy NEW Productions.