The longest-running Dutch musical, Soldier of Orange, is to transfer to London next year, and the hunt is underway for a location to stage the large-scale show.

The musical, about the Dutch resistance during World War II, is currently playing in a rotating 1,100 seat auditorium in a converted aircraft hanger on a Dutch military base. The scenes include a seascape, complete with water, and an aircraft which taxis to a stop.

British theatre impresario Harvey Goldsmith has been appointed non-executive director of Dutch producer Imagine Nation to oversee the international staging.

International interest

‘The show has been running for three years [in the Netherlands] and you can’t get a ticket,’ Goldsmith told theatre website The Stage.

‘We’ve also had interest from Japan, the Middle East and three different companies in America… This whole idea of immersive theatre is really gaining strength. I think this is the future of theatre – it’s giving you an experience that people have never really felt or seen before.’

Imagine Nation is also working on an immersive theatre production called Anne, based on The Diary of Anne Frank, Goldsmith said.