in leisure time
In our workshops, children and young people are immersed in the world of the performing arts. These aren’t traditional theatre classes, but engaging creative projects led by professional artists. From year-long courses, theatre weeks during the school holidays or shorter workshops during the day.
dekapers
dekapers are children and young people aged between 9 and 18 who come to hetpaleis on Wednesday afternoons for a year to discover the world of theatre.
They are guided in this by professional theatre makers. In the autumn, the dekapers receive a general introduction to theatre. In the spring, they work on a performance to be shown to family and friends during the Easter holidays. What’s more, all the ‘Dekapers’ performances are shown during the best festival of the year: ‘hetpaleis gekaapt’.
Would you (or your child) like to become a kaper?
You can sign up for dekapers every season. As we want to give everyone a fair chance, we use a lottery system to allocate places.
The registration period for the 2026–27 season runs from Tuesday 7 April to 5 May. During the week of 18 May, you will be notified by email whether you have been selected to take part.
theatre weeks during holdidays
During the school holidays, our studios fill up with children and young people for a workshop week lasting between 3 and 5 days. Our workshops are accessible for everyone: there’s no need to audition, there are no entry requirements, and places are always reserved for children who might not otherwise find their way to hetpaleis.
During which school holidays is hetpaleis organizing theatre weeks?
As repetition gets boring, our workshop programme is different every season. So be sure to keep an eye on our website and social media for the latest updates to our programme.
That said, there are a few regular features each season that are a must in our programme.
- During the spring half-term holidays, we always organise the theatre film week, in collaboration with the Antwerp Youth Film Festival.
- During the summer holidays, dozens of children let their hair down during the theatre summer weeks (August).
duo workshops
Watching and experiencing things together brings people together, which is precisely why we organize workshops for adults and children every season. These often take place during the Christmas holidays, the perfect time to pause for a moment and bring the year to a close together.