This theatre was first built in 1817 on the site of a fifteenth century mint but, following a fire in 1855, only from and pediment of the original Neo-Classical building remains. After the fire, the theatre was redesigned by the architect, Joseph Poelaert, also responsible for the imposing Palais de Justice.

The original theatre was to make its historical mark before its destruction, however, when on 25 August, 1830, a performance of the Mute Girl began a national rebellion. As the tenor began to sing the nationalist Sacred Love of the Homeland, his words incited an already discontented city, fired by the libertarianism of the revolutions taking place in France, into revolt. Members of the audience ran out into the street in a rampage that developed into the September Uprising. The theatre today remains the centre of Belgian performing arts; major renovations took place during the 1980s.