Berliner Kriminal Theater
Berliner Kriminal Theater is a performing arts center that specializes in plays of crime and thriller genre.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Berliner Kriminal Theater does
Berliner Kriminal Theater is a private performing arts company operating Germany's only theater venue exclusively dedicated to crime and thriller genres. Founded on April 13, 2000 by Wolfgang Rumpf and Wolfgang Seppelt, the company is structured as BKT Bühnen Betriebs GmbH and is headquartered at Palisadenstraße 48 in Berlin-Friedrichshain, housed inside the historic Umspannwerk Ost (former electrical transformer station) building. The venue's core product is live theatrical productions spanning murder mysteries, psychological thrillers, and suspenseful comedies, with adaptations drawn from bestselling crime authors including Agatha Christie, Sebastian Fitzek, and Umberto Eco. Since founding, the theater has produced 53 distinct productions, with 16 currently in active repertoire; its flagship, Die Mausefalle (The Mousetrap), has exceeded 1,450 performances and 180,000 visitors. The ensemble also tours extensively, delivering 80+ guest performances annually across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and operates seasonal open-air productions at external venues such as the Lakeside Burghotel Strausberg. Operations are run by a small team of approximately 8-10 staff, including co-Managing Directors Wolfgang Rumpf (founder, Intendant and Chefregisseur) and Oliver Gabbert (appointed 2022), plus heads of public relations, technical direction, and administration. The business model rests on three revenue streams: performance ticket sales through phone and online box office, gift voucher sales via a dedicated web shop (kriminaltheater-shop.comfortticket.de), and a hospitality partnership with Restaurant Umspannwerk.Ost, which occupies the same historic building and provides pre- and post-show dining. Marketing is conducted through organic social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, SoundCloud), newsletter, press partnerships (Berliner Morgenpost, SchlagerRadio, Berlin Bühnen), and tourism partnerships with VisitBerlin and hotels (Park Inn Berlin, Hotel am Steinplatz). The company receives institutional support from BKM (Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien) through federal cultural funding programs. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and the company has no external investors or private equity involvement, with ownership remaining with the founding team and management.
Berliner Kriminal Theater firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Berliner Kriminal Theater
- Legal name
- BKT Bühnen Betriebs GmbH
- Website
- https://www.kriminaltheater.de/
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Berliner Kriminal Theater is a performing arts center that specializes in plays of crime and thriller genre.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Berliner Kriminal Theater industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Live Theater & Performing Arts
- NAICS
- Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Performing Arts Companies (7111), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Classical & Contemporary Theatre (Plays/Drama) (MPAGABAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Touring Theatre Productions (MPAGABAC), Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB), Performing Arts & Cultural Event Venues (Theaters, Museums) (THAHAAAG)
Keywords
Where Berliner Kriminal Theater is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Berliner Kriminal Theater business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Performance Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from ticket sales for live theatrical performances at the main venue and touring productions. Box office operated via phone and online systems.
- Gift Vouchers: Sale of gift vouchers through dedicated web shop for gifting purposes.
- Restaurant Partnership: Partnership with Restaurant Umspannwerk.Ost which shares the venue building, providing culinary services before and after performances.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | One time/ perpetual license | Gift vouchers available in various denominations |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Berliner Kriminal Theater product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Berliner Kriminal Theater produces and performs live stage plays in the crime and thriller genre, including adaptations of works by Agatha Christie, Sebastian Fitzek, and other crime authors, at the historic Umspannwerk Ost venue in Berlin. It supplements resident performances with touring guest productions across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, summer open-air performances, and gift voucher sales through an online shop.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Live Theater Performances Live stage productions of crime and thriller plays including adaptations of bestselling novels by authors such as Sebastian Fitzek, Agatha Christie, and Umberto Eco, performed at the Umspannwerk Ost venue in Berlin. Aimed at adult theater audiences seeking crime fiction entertainment.
- Touring Productions Mobile theater productions that tour to guest venues across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, bringing the theater company's crime and thriller repertoire to external venues. Includes summer open-air productions such as at Lakeside Burghotel Strausberg.
- Gift Vouchers Gift certificate sales for theater tickets and experiences, available in various denominations through the online shop at kriminaltheater-shop.comfortticket.de.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1,450 performances of single production (Die Mausefalle)
Companies that use Berliner Kriminal Theater
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Berliner Kriminal Theater technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Berliner Kriminal Theater partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Restaurant Umspannwerk.OstcoreRestaurant located in the same historic building as the theater, providing pre- and post-show dining services. The restaurant occupies the main hall of the former electrical transformer station with six-meter high glass doors.
- SchlagerRadiominorRadio station partner with logo displayed on website footer
- Berliner MorgenpostminorMedia partner with logo displayed on website footer
- Berlin BühnenminorBerlin theater platform partner with logo displayed on website footer
- VisitBerlinminorOfficial Berlin tourism partner, provides visitor information
- Park Inn BerlinminorHotel partner for visiting audiences
- Hotel am Steinplatz Autograph CollectionminorMarriott hotel partner for visiting audiences
- The Lakeside Burghotel StrausbergminorOpen-air performance venue partner for summer productions in Strausberg
- Restaurantschiff Captn SchillowminorVenue partner for Whisky and Crime reading events, located on Straße des 17. Juni
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Berliner Kriminal Theater competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Krimi-Dinner / Interaktive Krimidinner companies (e.g., Krimidinner GmbH): The most direct comparables in the German-speaking market: companies producing interactive crime-genre dinner entertainment, sharing BKT's genre lock-in and evening-leisure audience. They serve similar guests with comedy-thriller theatrical experiences bundled with food and beverage.
- Hamburger Krimitheater: Hamburg-based dedicated crime/thriller theater operating with a comparable niche-positioning model. Directly comparable on genre focus, repertory-style programming, and ticketed small-venue theatrical productions.
- Schlosspark Theater Berlin: Intimate Berlin theater with a strong repertory of comedies, thrillers, and light drama — closest same-city peer to BKT on small-venue theatrical programming and adult-evening audience targeting.
- Renaissance-Theater Berlin: Berlin repertory theater with a small-house format, comparable season programming, and similar adult evening audience. Closest same-city comparable on intimate-venue theatrical operations and repertory-driven revenue model.
Regional players
- Münchner Krimitheater: Munich-based crime-themed theater serving the same genre niche in a different German city. Comparable on genre specialization and intimate-venue theatrical format but operates in a distinct geography from BKT.
- Die Komödie am Steinweg: Small-scale Cologne comedy and crime-theater venue with a similar repertory model focusing on light crime, thrillers, and comedies. Comparable on production scale and programming approach but in a different geography.
- Volksbühne Berlin: Berlin landmark theater institution with a small-house format and repertory programming model. Comparable on city and intimate venue operations but operates at municipal scale with much broader programming.
Broad incumbents
- Berliner Ensemble: Major Berlin theater institution with overlapping theatrical programming but a much broader mandate, larger venue capacity, and substantially different scale. Provides a useful benchmark on Berlin theater operations but is not genre-comparable.
- Deutsches Theater Berlin: One of Berlin's leading multi-genre theaters with a large repertoire. Comparable as a Berlin theatrical production company but with significantly broader programming, larger capacity, and institutional scale.
- Stage Entertainment Germany: Germany's largest commercial musical and theatrical producer. Comparable only as a Berlin theater operator and competitor for live-entertainment discretionary spend, but operates at vastly larger scale and with a different (musical-led) genre mix.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Berliner Kriminal Theater social profiles
Digital presenceBerliner Kriminal Theater financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Berliner Kriminal Theater leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Berliner Kriminal Theater funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Berliner Kriminal Theater M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Berliner Kriminal Theater
What does Berliner Kriminal Theater do?
Berliner Kriminal Theater produces and performs live stage plays in the crime and thriller genre, including adaptations of works by Agatha Christie, Sebastian Fitzek, and other crime authors, at the historic Umspannwerk Ost venue in Berlin. It supplements resident performances with touring guest productions across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, summer open-air performances, and gift voucher sales through an online shop.
Is Berliner Kriminal Theater a public or private company?
Berliner Kriminal Theater is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Berliner Kriminal Theater founded?
Berliner Kriminal Theater was founded in 2000. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Berliner Kriminal Theater based?
Berliner Kriminal Theater is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Berliner Kriminal Theater make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Performance Ticket Sales are the primary driver. The others are gift Vouchers and restaurant Partnership.
Who are Berliner Kriminal Theater's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Krimi-Dinner / Interaktive Krimidinner companies (e.g., Krimidinner GmbH), Hamburger Krimitheater, Schlosspark Theater Berlin and Renaissance-Theater Berlin. Regional players are Münchner Krimitheater, Die Komödie am Steinweg and Volksbühne Berlin. Broad incumbents are Berliner Ensemble, Deutsches Theater Berlin and Stage Entertainment Germany.
Does Berliner Kriminal Theater have an API?
No public API is recorded for Berliner Kriminal Theater.
What industry is Berliner Kriminal Theater in?
Berliner Kriminal Theater's product category is Live Theater & Performing Arts. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGABAH, Classical & Contemporary Theatre (Plays/Drama), with a secondary code of MPAGABAC, Touring Theatre Productions. Its NAICS code is 71111 and its SIC code is 7990.