Scharlatan

Name

Scharlatan

Legal name

Scharlatan – Theater für Veränderung

Website

https://scharlatan.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Scharlatan is a Hamburg-based German business theater company founded in 1985 that delivers bespoke theatrical productions, workshops, and events to help enterprises communicate change, strategy, and leadership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Theater Services

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111), Motion Picture and Video Production (512110), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Meetings & Conferences (Internal/External Business Events) (MPAGAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Conferences & Sales Kickoffs (MPAGAGAC), Classical & Contemporary Theatre (Plays/Drama) (MPAGABAH), Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB), Trade Shows & Industry Expos (B2B) (MPAGAHAB)

Keywords

• Business theater services
• Corporate change management
• Leadership development theater
• Organizational transformation consulting
• Corporate event production

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Unternehmenstheater / Businesstheater: Customized theater productions for corporate clients addressing change management, strategy communication, leadership, and culture topics. Productions are tailored through client interviews and developed as unique pieces. Revenue is project-based, typically negotiated per engagement.
2. Scharlatan Academy & eCademy: Workshop and coaching programs for employees and leaders covering communication, leadership, resilience, and change. Offered both analog (in-person) and digital/hybrid (online sessions). Subscription or program-based pricing.
3. Film & Video Production: Full-service video and film production including image films, training videos, event documentation, and business theater film clips. Priced per production project.
4. Jubilee & Event Entertainment: Theatrical event productions for company jubilees, private celebrations, Christmas parties, and special occasions. Includes 'Eine Reise durch die Zeit' (A Journey Through Time) format.
5. Forumtheater & Live Events: Interactive theater events for conferences, leadership days, and change congresses. Revenue generated per event booking.
6. Hybrid & Digital Offerings: Online and hybrid event services including virtual theater, custom song production, business audio dramas, and streaming via Studio Hammerbrook.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Scharlatan designs and delivers customized business theater (Unternehmenstheater) productions for corporate clients addressing change management, leadership development, strategy communication, and organizational culture. Core theatrical formats include Forumtheater, Bandprobe/Orchesterprobe, Szenische Intervention (Sketch), and Jubiläen/Jubilare anniversary productions, complemented by workshops/coaching (Scharlatan Academy, eCademy), keynotes, film & video production (Scharlatan Film), and an owned hybrid event venue (Studio Hammerbrook) in Hamburg. All productions are bespoke, developed through client interviews, and delivered live on-site or via digital/hybrid streaming.

Product overview

Scharlatan is a German business theater (Unternehmenstheater/Businesstheater) company based in Hamburg, founded in 1985, offering a portfolio of theater-based services for corporate communication, change management, and event entertainment. The core offering is Unternehmenstheater (business theater), comprising interactive formats like Forumtheater, Bandprobe/Orchesterprobe (orchestra/band rehearsals), Szenische Intervention (Sketch), and Jubiläen (anniversary productions). These are complemented by the Scharlatan Academy (in-person workshops and coaching), eCademy (digital/hybrid online workshops), Keynotes (motivational speakers), Online-Angebote (digital event services), Studio Hammerbrook (owned streaming studio), and Film- & Video-Produktion (Scharlatan Film for video production). Additional event services include Komische Kellner (comedy waiters), Walk Acts, Prof. Dr. Friedrich Faber character performances, Customized Song productions, Optionslabor, and Virtueller Sketch. The company serves organizations across industries for change processes, leadership development, strategy communication, and private celebrations, operating from its own Hamburg theater studio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Scharlatan Academy: Academy for personal development, change and strategy with theater-based methods for employees and leaders.
• Scharlatan eCademy
• Scharlatan Film
• Studio Hammerbrook

Products and services

• Unternehmenstheater (Business Theater) Theatrical performances using theater techniques to address corporate challenges such as change processes, leadership development, and organizational culture. Includes Forumtheater, Bandprobe/Orchesterprobe, Sketch, and Volle Kraft voraus formats; tailored to each client through research and interviews.
• Forumtheater Interactive theater format where audience members become directors of their own change, with scenes modified and replayed based on audience input. Designed for 60-90 minute sessions with up to 200 participants.
• Bandprobe / Orchesterprobe (Band & Orchestra Rehearsal) Theatrical format using music ensemble analogies (orchestra or band) to address organizational challenges such as restructuring, mergers, vision, and leadership culture. Combines live professional music with dramatic scenes.
• Szenische Intervention (Sketch) Short theatrical scenes (typically 10-15 minutes) that humorously address specific topics, events, or challenges. Customized scripts created in close consultation with clients for meetings, conferences, seminars, or private celebrations.
• Jubiläen und Jubilare (Anniversary Productions) Anniversary celebration format titled 'Eine Reise durch die Zeit' (A Journey Through Time) combining music, dialogue, and documents to celebrate company milestones and honor long-serving employees.
• Scharlatan Academy Analog (in-person) workshop and coaching programs for personal development, leadership, and organizational change. Offers modular training for employees, executives, and mixed groups in topics including communication, relationships, personality, and perspective change.
• eCademy Digital and hybrid online workshop platform offering condensed 90-minute learning units with group interaction, reflection, input, small group work, and coaching sessions. Limited to 10 participants per session for individualized attention.
• Keynotes Motivational speaking engagements by professional theater speakers who translate business topics into unique, impactful presentations with humor. Topics include Storytelling, Hierarchiedesign, Rock the Stage, Error Culture, SelfCare, and Human Behavior.
• Online-Angebote (Digital & Hybrid Event Services) Digital and hybrid event services including Studio Hammerbrook streaming location, Customized Song musical productions, Optionslabor interactive business theater, virtual sketches, business audio dramas, and camera coaching.
• Studio Hammerbrook Own studio location in Hamburg (210 m², typically for up to 100 persons) equipped for live, digital, and hybrid events with Full HD cameras, professional audio, lighting options, and streaming capabilities. Includes full-service production support and is available for venue rental.
• Film- & Video-Produktion (Scharlatan Film) Full-service video and film production including image films, training videos, business theater film clips, documentaries, and interactive training formats. Offers services from concept to final cut with in-house studio (Studio Hammerbrook) and professional actors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70% of all change projects reportedly fail — Scharlatan's theater-based approaches are designed to address this failure rate by creating emotional engagement that sustains change.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MOMENTMACHERcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMOMENTMACHER is a partner in the Studio Hammerbrook location offering. Together with MOMENTMACHER, Scharlatan provides fully equipped and branded studio spaces in central Hamburg for digital, hybrid, and in-person events, including concept development, execution, and full production support.
• consensa BeratungminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScharlatan co-hosted the 'Leadership in Zeiten der Transformation' forum with consensa, a consulting firm, combining theater-based methods with strategic consulting to address leadership challenges in transformation contexts.
• Jenewein (Unternehmensberatung)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScharlatan and Jenewein co-designed and delivered a special summer management conference using theater formats to make transformation tangible, combining Jenewein's consulting expertise with Scharlatan's theatrical methods.
• PepKo (Innovationsmanagement)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScharlatan partnered with PepKo (Friederbarth) on a focus day exploring creativity as leadership and innovation management in practice, using improvisational theater and workshop formats.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Jack Morton Worldwide: Jack Morton is a large global brand experience and event agency that designs corporate events, conferences and internal engagement programs for major enterprise clients. It serves the same buyer (HR, communications, brand marketers) but delivers theater as one capability inside a much wider experiential service portfolio.
• MKG (Marketingkriegsgesellschaft): MKG is a global experiential marketing agency producing live brand experiences, conferences, and employee events for large enterprises. Comparable as a broad incumbent that addresses the same enterprise event and communications spend pool Scharlatan targets.
• Sparks: Sparks (now part of MCH Group) is a global experiential agency that creates corporate events, conferences and brand activations. Like Jack Morton and MKG, it serves as a broad incumbent alternative for enterprises deciding between theatrical change experiences and broader event-driven communications.

Others

• Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): CCL is a globally recognized leadership development institution offering executive education and programs for senior leaders. It addresses an overlapping buyer (HR, L&D) but through research-based classroom programs rather than theatrical performance.
• Seitwert / BrandNew (brand-strategy agencies): BrandNew is a German brand-strategy and creative agency that occasionally produces theatrical or experiential formats for corporate-culture projects. Comparable as an adjacent ecosystem participant that sometimes enters the same corporate-communication RFPs as Scharlatan.
• consensa Beratung: consensa is a German change and transformation consultancy that co-hosts executive forums with Scharlatan. It is comparable as a partner and adjacent ecosystem player that competes for transformation consulting budgets.

Emerging players

• changescout / change-theater: change-theater is a German emerging player focused exclusively on change-management theater, targeting HR and transformation teams at mid-sized German companies. It is a narrower and younger direct competitor to Scharlatan's core change-theater proposition.

Direct peers

• The Second City: The Second City runs a long-established corporate training and applied improvisation business serving Fortune 500 clients across North America. It is the closest international analogue to Scharlatan's blend of professional theater craft with corporate L&D and change audiences.
• actland Theaterproduktionen: actland is a Berlin-based German business theater (Unternehmenstheater) company that produces custom theatrical interventions for corporate change, leadership and strategy communication. It competes head-to-head with Scharlatan for the same German enterprise and HR buyer on comparable product formats (custom forum-style scenes, change plays).
• Improvisational Theater / Improtheater Unternehmen: Various German Improtheater companies (Impro Frankfurt, Springmaus, Fastfood Theater) deliver interactive improvisational formats for corporate audiences and events. They compete for the same German "live-for-change" budgets though with lighter bespoke-writing depth than Scharlatan.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Scharlatan_HH
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCdrwjD44P6T-pqnCoTb-nMQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/scharlatantheater
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scharlatan---theater-f%C3%BCr-ver%C3%A4nderung
• Instagraminstagram.com/scharlatantheater

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Scharlatan