ABOUT US

A little bit of history

Our logo shows the year 1879, the year when the Frascati theatre opened its doors as ‘summer theatre’. During WOI the theatre was poorly maintained and became vacant. In 1930 the theatre was remodeled and reopened under the name ‘Rika Hopper Theatre’. After a bankruptcy the name changed to Beatrix Theatre in 1938. From September 1941 onwards, only Jews were allowed to visit, and the theatre was named ‘Theatre Of Laughter’. In the spring of 1942, the theatre was closed. After a closure of two years, a new name appeared again and in 1944 the Hortus Theatre opened its doors. The name Desmet has been in use (first as a movie theatre) since 1946 after Theo Desmet bought the venue and named it after his uncle, the famous film distributor and pioneer Jean Desmet.

In 2001, the Desmet Studios as we now know it was officially opened and since then, many radio shows, television shows, and live broadcasts have taken place.