A major theater with a wide perspective
At the edge of Utrecht’s city canal sits Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, one of the Netherlands’ best-known cultural venues. With hundreds of performances each year, from top comedians to emerging creators, the theater is a place where the city comes together. Diversity in programming is key: school performances, small ensembles, and audience favorites alternate in a lineup that aims to be accessible to everyone.
Ticketing specialist Jesse Nortier knows the building inside out. “My mom kind of pulled me into it — literally,” he laughs. “When she was pregnant with me, she worked there in hospitality. Later, as a kid, I sometimes tagged along. And when I turned eighteen, I got to start working there myself.”
What began as a student job in the café unexpectedly turned into a career in ticketing. “Because someone at the box office dropped out for a while, I helped out temporarily. Eventually I ended up there for good.”
Today, Jesse and his colleagues make sure that ticket sales for more than 500 performances per season run smoothly, from planning to website integration. “I’m kind of the nerd of the team,” he says with a grin. “I make sure everything keeps running, from the planning system to ticketmatic, and from ticketmatic to the website.”
From stress to success
The annual season launch is the moment of truth for Stadsschouwburg Utrecht. Thousands of tickets go on sale in a single morning. Everything has to work perfectly at once: prices, upsells, seating layouts, communication, and technology.
“We start entering the new season in March,” Jesse explains. “That’s nearly 500 shows. And on launch day, we sell about a third of our total tickets. Everything needs to fire on all cylinders that day.”
The pressure is high: if anything goes wrong, the team instantly falls behind. “If something breaks, the impact is huge,” says Jesse. “Having a solid foundation is good for everyone. We’ve really noticed that when things run smoothly on a technical level — and they have the last two years — everyone’s happy.”
It wasn’t always that way. “In the past, we sometimes had failed transactions. People would pay but not get their tickets. That was something we had to check every few days.” The need for a stable, reliable system became increasingly urgent.
Switching to ticketmatic
The switch to ticketmatic brought the peace of mind and reliability the team had been looking for.
This is actually the third ticketing system I’ve worked with. And in my experience, ticketmatic is by far the most stable and reliable.
A major advantage was the strong integration with Yesplan, the venue’s planning system. “Those two work together seamlessly. Importing performances that a programmer schedules into ticketmatic takes just a few seconds. It’s great.”
Trust grew quickly — not just in the system, but in the collaboration with the ticketmatic team. “Support is lightning-fast,” says Jesse. “Within a day, a custom field is added or a view is updated. You can tell you’re working with a partner you can truly rely on.”
A smart system that adapts to the theater
After the successful transition, the team discovered how flexible and user-friendly the platform is in daily use. “Within its capabilities, you can pretty much do anything right away,” Jesse says. “Creating a promo code, for example, takes just a few seconds.”
Ticketmatic makes the work easier in three main ways:
There’s also plenty of room for innovation. Since last season, the theater has been using Secure Tickets, which prevents abuse through ticket reselling. “It raised some questions at first, but it went really well,” Jesse notes. “We see real added value in it. It solves an important problem.”
Other projects, like the Podiumpas (a pass allowing regular visitors to attend multiple theaters at a discount), also show the system’s flexibility. “Within ticketmatic, we came up with our own solution so passholders can now reserve their tickets online.”
Another major strength is data. “ticketmatic is essentially a database, all the information is in there,” Jesse explains. “You can answer almost any question with reports or views.” Those insights help the organization better understand visitor behavior.
How far in advance do people buy their tickets? How does that differ by genre or show type? Those are fascinating metrics that help us reach our audiences more effectively.
Beyond functionality, Jesse especially values stability and support. “The system just runs. There are no outages. And if something does come up, it’s resolved quickly. That gives everyone peace of mind.” He sees ticketmatic as a true partner, not just a vendor. “The flexibility within the platform’s boundaries is impressive. And the team is always available. We can really count on it to work.”
A stable foundation for continued growth
For Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, working with ticketmatic means peace of mind and dependability. Season launches now run flawlessly, the system is flexible in everyday use, and support is fast and personal. That makes it easier for Jesse and his colleagues to focus on what they do best: creating unforgettable experiences for audiences and making great performances possible.
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