Terneuzen faces the Western Scheldt, and for most of its history the estuary kept Zeeuws-Vlaanderen at arm's length from the rest of its province; the tunnel under the water opened only in 2003. The Scheldetheater is the town's stage and effectively the principal one for that whole strip of Dutch land south of the river, programming touring drama, cabaret and orchestral evenings for an audience drawn from both sides of the Belgian border.