Jakop Ahlbom Company

What Jakop Ahlbom Company does

Jakop Ahlbom Company is a Dutch physical theater foundation (stichting) founded in 2000 and led by artistic director Jakop Ahlbom and business director Margo van der Valk. The company produces original visual and illusion-based theater performances, maintaining a repertoire of more than 25 productions staged across 45-plus Dutch venues and toured internationally to Taiwan, Italy, the USA, and Australia.

The business operates a hybrid revenue model combining ticket sales from theatrical productions, recurring government subsidies (notably from Fonds Podiumkunsten and Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst under the Dutch ANBI framework), studio rental income from its rehearsal facilities, workshop and educational programming, and guest directing engagements. In 2024 the company co-produced the opera Cherry Town, signaling a move into larger-scale operatic co-productions. The organization also transitioned to fully electric touring logistics, becoming the first Dutch theater company to do so, embedding environmental sustainability into its operating model.

The company marks its 25-year jubilee in 2025. As a Dutch cultural foundation, it is not structured as an investable equity vehicle; its primary 'customers' are institutional funders, venue partners, and live audiences, with funding concentration in public cultural budgets representing the principal revenue-side risk.

Name

Jakop Ahlbom Company

Legal name

Jakop Ahlbom Company

Website

https://jakopahlbom.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Jakop Ahlbom Company is a Dutch physical theater foundation producing original visual and illusion-based performances for live audiences across 45+ Dutch venues and international touring circuits, funded through ticket sales, government subsidies, studio rental, and workshops.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts / Physical Theater

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111)

akta.pro primary industry

Media Arts & Performance (Film, Stagecraft, Lighting, Sound) (EDAMAAAJ)

Keywords

• Physical theater productions
• Mime performance art
• Visual theater performances
• Arts education workshops
• Dance theater company

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue from performances at theaters across the Netherlands and international touring
2. Studio Rental: The company rents out its rehearsal studio for theater rehearsals, music, and dance
3. Educational Programs: Workshops including Wonderclass and Maaktraject op maat for schools and educational institutions
4. Guest Directing: Services include guest directing for other productions
5. Government Subsidies: Structural subsidy from Fonds Podiumkunsten and Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst
6. Event Services: Events and activities organized by the company

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Jakop Ahlbom Company is a Dutch physical theater company that creates and tours surreal, physical, and visually striking performances combining mime, dance, slapstick, music, magic, and visual effects to tell universal stories. The company develops original theater productions, tours them across approximately 45 Dutch venues and internationally, and runs complementary educational workshops (Wonderclass, Maaktraject) and studio rental services.

Product overview

Jakop Ahlbom Company is a Dutch physical theater company that creates surreal, physical, and visually striking performances. The portfolio consists of 20+ theater productions spanning physical comedy, dance theater, opera co-productions, and surrealist performances. Core productions include Horror, Lebensraum, Knock-Out, Unseen, and A Fine Mess, featuring unique movement language combining mime, dance, slapstick, music, magic, and visual effects. The company also operates educational programs under Wonderclass (workshops for youth, professionals, and general public) and offers studio rental services. Recent productions include Cherry Town (opera), We Don't Live Here Anymore (2025), and ongoing international touring.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Desillusionist A physical theater performance featuring dance, magic, and physical comedy. A remake of Vielfalt (2006), specially adapted for De Parade festival, about a couple trapped in a magic trick who enter the illusionist's surreal world.
• A Fine Mess A knock-out action comedy about a brother and sister caring for their sick mother in a small desert town, who resort to a gas station robbery that spirals into absurd situations. A co-production with ISH Dance Collective and DeLaMar Theater.
• Lebensraum Physical comedy inspired by Buster Keaton's silent films, featuring two men living in a small room who create a mechanical housekeeper that develops its own will.
• Unseen

Quantifiable outcome

• Horror has had over 200,000 visitors worldwide with international tours
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• De Nationale OperaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production of Cherry Town (2026), a Dmitri Sjostakovitsj operetta directed by Jakop Ahlbom, with live music by Nederlands Philharmonisch and choreography by Marco Gerris (ISH Dance Collective)
• ISH Dance CollectiveflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for Knock-Out and A Fine Mess, combining dance, theater and martial arts. Marco Gerris serves as choreographer and artistic leader.
• DeLaMar TheatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHome theater partner and co-producer of Knock-Out and A Fine Mess, with extensive performance schedule at DeLaMar Amsterdam venue
• Theater de MeervaartcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-producer of Swan Lake (2016) and SYZYGY (2020), special relationship as Amsterdam home theater partner
• Pieter SmitminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransport partner for electric truck touring of Horror in 2024, enabling first fully electric theater tour in Netherlands
• StroomlijnenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainability consultancy partner for organizing Zero-Emission Day with performing arts sector organizations
• De LeedbewakersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheater collective co-producing KØT with Jakop Ahlbom Company, featuring Maurits van den Berg, Lisa Groothof, and Steyn de Leeuwe
• Golden PalaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMime company partner for ZÉRO festival for mime and performance, organized to strengthen mime genre visibility
• Schweigman&minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMime company partner for ZÉRO festival for mime and performance

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Schweigman&: Dutch mime and physical theater maker partnered with Jakop Ahlbom Company for the ZÉRO festival. Both operate in the Dutch physical theater niche, producing wordless visual performances for theater and festival circuits in the Netherlands.
• Golden Palace: Dutch mime collective that co-organized the ZÉRO festival with Ahlbom's company. Directly comparable as a Dutch physical/mime performance ensemble sharing audience and venue networks within the Netherlands mime ecosystem.
• Släpstick: German physical comedy and slapstick theater company producing wordless, visual, and acrobatic performances for international touring. Closely comparable genre (physical slapstick), similar mid-sized touring model, and shared European touring circuits.
• Mummenschanz: Swiss mime and visual theater troupe founded in 1972, internationally renowned for non-verbal performances using masks, shapes, and physical transformation. Highly comparable to Ahlbom's wordless, visual storytelling approach and similar touring model across family and adult audiences.
• ISH Dance Collective: Amsterdam-based dance and physical theater company that co-produces multiple productions with Jakop Ahlbom Company, including Knock-Out, A Fine Mess, and Cherry Town. Both companies blend dance, physical comedy, and visual storytelling for Dutch and international audiences, and they share key creative personnel like choreographer Marco Gerris.
• Complicité: British physical and visual theater company famous for inventive staging and director-led ensemble work. Comparable in scale (mid-sized touring company), creative methodology (physical/visual storytelling), and international touring profile across major venues.

Others

• De Nationale Opera & Ballet: Flagship Dutch opera institution that co-produces Cherry Town with Jakop Ahlbom Company. Comparable as a Dutch performing arts partner and venue, but operates in a fundamentally different genre (operatic) and at much larger scale.
• Theater de Meervaart: Amsterdam theater venue and co-production partner (Swan Lake, SYZYGY) functioning as both venue and creative collaborator. Comparable as a Dutch performing arts ecosystem participant, though it operates primarily as a venue rather than a producing company.

Broad incumbents

• International Theater Amsterdam: Largest Dutch subsidized theater company producing contemporary drama, musicals, and adaptations in Amsterdam. Comparable only as a major Dutch subsidized performing arts organization; broader portfolio and textual/dramatic orientation make it a structural peer rather than direct competitor.
• Cirque du Soleil: Global entertainment leader in circus-acrobatics-performance hybrids combining physicality, music, and visual spectacle. Overlapping in physical/visual storytelling DNA but operating at vastly larger scale with permanent shows and arena tours rather than intimate theater productions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/JakopAhlbom
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jakop-ahlbom-campany
• Instagraminstagram.com/jakop_ahlbom_company
• Xx.com/jakopahlbom

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Jakop Ahlbom Company