'Amsterdam is geen Parijs' De Franse opmars naar de Schouwburg

This article focuses on the Amsterdam municipal theatre, or Schouwburg, and the major changes in business focus and art directions taking place during the Year of Disaster and the Guerre de Hollande (1672-1678). After the military confrontations and the closure of theatre life during these years, the Schouwburg's reopening and its new directors displayed a remarkable new orientation, away from popular drama such as Spanish comedias and farces, and fully embracing Paris's playwrights and theatre life. Paradoxically, the Dutch-French political antagonism at the time coincided with the moment for comedy playwrights such as Molière and Quinault, and tragedy playwrights such as Racine and Corneille, to be the hailed as the new stars of Dutch theatre life. This article analyzes the fierce debates on the course of theatre, both among the people in the Schouwburg and in the city. Moreover, it measures the impact of the French orientation in terms of theatre praxis and programming. The farces repertory, in particular, made a new start with laughter materials from France.