Cirque Plume

What Cirque Plume does

Cirque Plume was a French "cirque de création" (contemporary circus) company that operated from 1984 to 2020, presenting original live performances that blended circus arts, live music, poetry, and theatrical storytelling. Founded by artistic director Bernard Kudlak and composer Robert Miny in the Besançon area (originating from the fanfare Léa Traction), the company built a 36-year repertoire of named productions including "No Animo Mas Anima" (1984 manifesto show), "Mélanges (opéra plume)" (1999), "Plic Ploc" (2002-2004), "L'atelier du peintre" (2007-2009), and the farewell show "La dernière saison" (2017-2020). The company performed primarily under its own iconic yellow big top tent, touring across France and Europe to general public and cultural audiences via ticketed live events, with marketing driven by its website (cirqueplume.com), Facebook, Twitter, and earned media.

The entity was structured as a French non-profit association — "L'après Plume" under the "association loi 1901" framework, registered at La Chapelle sur Furieuse (SIRET 897 425 435 00012) — rather than a traditional corporation, with no institutional investors, subsidiaries, or parent company identified. Its business model combined ticket revenue from touring shows with what is implicitly a French public-arts funding base (DRAC, regional and municipal subsidies typical of the sector), though no specific subsidy flows or ticket pricing were publicly disclosed. Distribution was direct-to-consumer through self-produced touring performances at regional venues and under its own big top. The company is no longer active: COVID-19 forced the cancellation of 94 remaining performances of "La dernière saison" in 2020, and the company officially ended its career. A digital archive website was launched in 2021 to preserve its history, videos, photographs, music, and Bernard Kudlak's texts, with no current live operations, hiring, or commercial expansion underway.

Name

Cirque Plume

Legal name

L'après Plume

Website

https://cirqueplume.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cirque Plume was a French "cirque de création" (1984-2020) that created original contemporary circus shows combining circus arts, live music, poetry, and theater, performing under its own yellow big top tent to general public and cultural audiences across France and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Performing Arts

NAICS

Other Performing Arts Companies (71119), Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711)

akta.pro primary industry

Circus & Physical Theatre (MPAGABAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Circus, Magic & Variety Shows (THAJAFAH)

Keywords

• Contemporary circus performances
• Live performing arts
• Circus creation shows
• Theatrical circus tours
• Cultural live entertainment

Headquarters

HQ city

Besançon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cirque Plume was a contemporary circus company ("cirque de création") that created, produced, and toured original live circus performances combining circus arts, original live music, poetry, and theatrical elements. Shows were staged primarily under the company's iconic yellow big top tent and sold as ticketed public performances. The company is no longer active and now maintains only an online archive of its past productions.

Product overview

Cirque Plume was a 'cirque de création' (contemporary circus creation) company active from 1984 to 2020, presenting original circus performances combining circus arts, live music, poetry, and theatrical elements. The company created numerous named shows including 'La dernière saison' (their farewell performance), 'No Animo Mas Anima' (their seminal manifesto show), 'Plic Ploc', 'L'atelier du peintre', 'Toiles', and 'Mélanges (opéra plume)'. The company also archived multimedia content including video recordings, photographs, and musical compositions. The company operated under the association 'L'après Plume' and is now in archive mode, with the website maintaining their historical record and multimedia content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Amour, jonglage et falbalas An original contemporary circus performance ("cirque de création") featuring juggling and elaborate costumes, part of the company's foundational repertoire of original creations intended for general public ticketed audiences.
• Spectacle de Cirque et de Merveilles A circus and wonders show combining traditional circus arts with poetic and fantastical elements, produced by Cirque Plume for general public ticketed audiences.
• No Animo Mas Anima A seminal contemporary circus show created during the 1984 circus revolution and described as a manifesto of contemporary circus ("cirque de création"), produced for general public ticketed audiences.
• Toiles An original circus performance featuring theatrical and visual storytelling elements, produced by Cirque Plume for general public ticketed audiences.
• L'harmonie est-elle municipale? An original circus performance exploring themes of community and municipal harmony through circus arts, produced for general public ticketed audiences.
• Mélanges (opéra plume) An operatic circus performance blending music, poetry, and circus arts into a single mixed artistic form, produced for general public ticketed audiences.
• Récréation An original circus show creating a recreational atmosphere with circus arts and music, produced for general public ticketed audiences.
• Plic Ploc An original circus performance featuring music and theatrical elements, with a documented creation notebook covering its development from 2002 to 2004, produced for general public ticketed audiences.
• L'atelier du peintre An original circus performance inspired by a painter's studio, blending visual arts and circus arts, with a documented creation notebook covering 2007 to 2009 and performed at La Villette in October 2009, produced for general public ticketed audiences.
• Tempus fugit? An original circus performance exploring themes of time passing (named after the Latin phrase "Tempus fugit?"), produced for general public ticketed audiences.
• La dernière saison The company's final original performance and farewell show, created in 2017 in Besançon, toured for 300+ representations, with 94 additional performances cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the end of the company's active career.
• La plume de Satan A circus performance in the "autour de Plume" (around Plume) repertoire, produced for general public ticketed audiences.
• Le jongleur de l'arc-en-ciel A circus performance in the "autour de Plume" repertoire featuring a rainbow juggler, produced for general public ticketed audiences.
• Variété A variety show format within the "autour de Plume" repertoire, produced for general public ticketed audiences.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• TuttiQuanti.netminorOthersResponsible for website design and layout of the Cirque Plume archive website.
• Galliot.comminorOthersResponsible for website design, layout, and hosting services for the Cirque Plume archive website.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Machine de Cirque: Quebec-based contemporary circus troupe producing original touring shows with a similar artistic scope (circus, music, theatrical narrative) to Cirque Plume. Comparable mid-sized touring model and nouvelle cirque heritage.
• Compagnie des Quidams: French contemporary circus and street-performance company producing poetic, musical touring shows. Operates within the same cirque de création tradition as Cirque Plume, with comparable French regional touring model.
• Les 7 Doigts de la Main: Montreal contemporary circus collective founded in 2002 by former Cirque du Soleil performers. Operates in the same nouvelle cirque tradition as Cirque Plume, producing original touring shows that fuse circus, music, and intimate theatrical storytelling.
• Aurélien Bory / Compagnie 111: French contemporary circus/theater company under director Aurélien Bory, producing original touring works that combine circus disciplines with scenography and music. Closely aligned with Cirque Plume's cirque de création positioning and aesthetic.
• Compagnie XY: French contemporary circus collective based in northern France, producing original acrobatic and circus-theater touring shows. Same French nouvelle cirque lineage and similar mid-scale touring model as Cirque Plume.
• Circa (Australia): Australian contemporary circus ensemble that combines acrobatics, music, and theatrical performance in touring productions. Highly comparable in creative approach and scale to Cirque Plume's body of work.
• Cirque Éloize: Montreal-based contemporary circus company founded in 1993 that, like Cirque Plume, blends circus arts with music, theatrical storytelling, and poetic staging for touring productions. Closely comparable in size, aesthetic positioning, and touring business model — both are mid-sized 'cirque de création'-style outfits.
• Le Cirque Invisible: French contemporary circus founded by Victoria Chaplin (daughter of Charlie Chaplin), known for poetic intimate performances combining circus, music, and pantomime. Same nouvelle cirque lineage and small-scale touring aesthetic as Cirque Plume.

Broad incumbents

• Cirque du Soleil: The world's largest contemporary circus producer, founded in the same Quebec/Québécois nouvelle cirque tradition as Cirque Plume. Both blend circus arts with music and theatrical narrative under a touring big-top model; Cirque du Soleil is the dominant scaled incumbent while Plume operated as a smaller, more artistic French counterpart.

Regional players

• Royal de Luxe: French street-theater and giant-marionette company based in Nantes that, like Cirque Plume, is a major French touring live-performance brand blending spectacle, narrative, and music. Different primary format (street giants vs. big-top circus) but same heritage of large-scale French touring spectacle.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cirqueplume
• Facebookfacebook.com/cirqueplume
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cirque-plume

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cirque Plume