The Matador office at the heart of the transformation of the Théâtre du Manège in Maubeuge

The Manège Theater in Maubeuge, a cross-border national theatre located in the heart of the Hauts-de-France region, began a major transformation in 2025. After forty years of intense artistic activity and international collaborations, the theatre is entering a new chapter in its history through an ambitious renovation project led by two agencies: Matador (Belgium) and TAG Atelier d’Architecture (France).

A theatre in transition: renovating to reinvent

Inaugurated in 1983 in a former military riding hall built in 1831, Le Manège has become one of the region’s key cultural institutions, earning the status of scène nationale in 1990. Its position on the Belgian border makes it a place where artistic practices, audiences and territories converge.

At the core of the project, Matador and TAG propose a new urban narrative for Le Manège Maubeuge. Their approach conceives the ground as a continuous surface on which an archipelago of open, flexible and interconnected spaces can unfold.

This notion of an “open field of possibilities” guides the entire transformation: rather than imposing a fixed programmatic model, Matador reshapes the theatre as an adaptable environment suited to multiple uses. This flexibility meets the needs of the performing arts while supporting new forms of cultural mediation.

The project also engages with a dense heritage context, at the junction of the Cantuaines, the beguinage and its chapel, and the Vauban fortifications. The challenge is to reintegrate the theatre within this layered fabric—not by reproducing historical language, but by articulating the site’s traces and continuities in a contemporary way.

The construction site

The renovation led by Matador and TAG includes:

• a comprehensive regulatory and technical upgrade of the building;
• a full restructuring of the main auditorium;
• the requalification of dressing rooms and storage areas;
• a redesigned entrance hall to improve circulation and enhance the public experience.

During the two-year construction period, Le Manège will present an off-site season, continuing its mission of artistic outreach while preparing for its reopening in 2026.