Théâtre du Chêne Noir

What Théâtre du Chêne Noir does

Théâtre du Chêne Noir is a non-profit live performance venue and cultural institution (Association loi 1901) headquartered at 8 bis rue Sainte Catherine in Avignon, France, founded in 1967 by Gérard Gelas. Its core product is an annual summer theatre festival held as part of the Festival OFF d'Avignon (4–25 July, now in its 59th edition) supplemented by a year-round Saison d'Hiver (September–May) of theatrical, musical, and dance programming. The organization runs theatrical practice workshops for children, adolescents, and adults (operating since 1982), dedicated school-group performances (serving approximately 8,825 students annually across 137 classes with meet-and-greets with actors), and the newly launched Institut International des Arts du Spectacle d'Avignon (IIASA), a professional acting school publicly unveiled in February–March 2025 with Daniel Auteuil as godfather.

The business operates on a multi-stream revenue model comprising ticket sales (processed through the Vostickets online platform and an on-site box office, with festival tickets starting at €8), season subscriptions and preferential booking, recurring workshop tuition fees, private venue rentals for corporate and group events, and on-site restaurant/catering service (Le coin du Chêne). Customer segments are distributed across general-public festival attendees (40,000+ spectators per summer season), school groups, and corporate/private event renters; the theatre is family-led, currently directed by Julien Gelas with Gérard Gelas remaining as founder/publication director, alongside a deputy director and communications manager. Technology is limited to standard e-commerce ticketing and social-media marketing channels (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, plus radio partnership with France Bleu Vaucluse); the organization holds Licence d'entrepreneur de spectacle n°9871 from the French Ministry of Culture and has no disclosed funding rounds, M&A, or parent company.

Name

Théâtre du Chêne Noir

Legal name

Théâtre du Chêne Noir – Association loi 1901

Website

https://chenenoir.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Théâtre du Chêne Noir is a 59-year-old non-profit theatre in Avignon, France, operating a summer Festival OFF program and year-round winter season of live performances, theatrical workshops, school programs, and the newly launched IIASA acting school, serving festival audiences, students, and corporate event renters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Theatre / Performing Arts

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Performing Arts & Cultural Event Venues (Theaters, Museums) (THAHAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Theatre & Storytelling Festivals (MPAGAEAI)

Keywords

• Live theatre performances
• Theatrical productions
• Performing arts venue
• Actor training programs
• Theatre festival

Headquarters

HQ city

Avignon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue from selling tickets to theatrical performances during festival season and winter season. Tickets are sold online through Vostickets platform and at the box office.
2. Theatre Workshops: Fees from theatrical practice workshops for children, adolescents, and adults, running since 1982.
3. Venue Rental / Privatization: Revenue from renting the theatre venue to businesses and organizations for private events.
4. Season Subscriptions: Revenue from season pass subscriptions offering preferential access to performances.
5. Restaurant/Catering: On-site restaurant and catering services operated at the theatre venue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Théâtre du Chêne Noir operates a live performing arts venue in Avignon, France, producing and hosting an annual summer festival (part of the Festival OFF d'Avignon) and a year-round winter season featuring theatrical performances, concerts, dance, conferences, and exhibitions. Complementary offerings include theatrical practice workshops for children, adolescents, and adults, dedicated school performances, professional actor training through the Institut International des Arts du Spectacle d'Avignon (IIASA), on-site restaurant service (Le coin du Chêne), and private venue rental for corporate events.

Product overview

Théâtre du Chêne Noir is a live performance venue and cultural center in Avignon, France, operating as an Association loi 1901. Its core offering consists of an annual summer Festival (part of the Festival Off d'Avignon, July 4–25, 2026) and a year-round Saison d'Hiver (winter season, September–May) featuring theater, music, dance, conferences, and exhibitions. Supporting offerings include theatrical practice workshops for children, adolescents, and adults (including 'Les Petits Chênes' for children), school group performances, the newly launched Institut International des Arts du Spectacle d'Avignon (IIASA) professional acting school, on-site restaurant service (Le coin du Chêne), and private venue rental for corporate events. Online ticketing is handled through Vostickets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 40,000+ spectators served during festival season
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Festival d'AvignoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2026Association with Festival d'Avignon for 'Le Souffle d'Avignon', a cycle of readings in the Palais des Papes gardens, for the seventh consecutive year.
• Daniel AuteuilminorOthers · 3 March 2025Renowned French actor Daniel Auteuil serves as the godfather (parrain) of the newly created Institut International des Arts du Spectacle d'Avignon (IIASA), the theatre's acting school initiative.
• Institut International des Arts du Spectacle d'Avignon (IIASA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 February 2025New theatre school created by Théâtre du Chêne Noir, announced publicly in February 2025. Launch conference held March 3, 2025 with Daniel Auteuil as godfather. Aims to provide professional actor training.
• Liu Zongtao / Qingdao Theatre (China)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 May 2016Exploratory partnership for a Franco-Chinese theatre festival project between Beijing-Qingdao and Paris-Avignon. Gerard and Julien Gelas were invited to discuss cooperation with the 1200-seat Qingdao theatre.
• Scènes d'AvignoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the 7 permanent theatres of Avignon for the Fest'Hiver winter cultural program. Chêne Noir participates in coordinated programming with other Avignon theatres.
• France Bleu VaucluseminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial radio partner of Scènes d'Avignon, providing media coverage and promotion for theatre events and performances.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Théâtre du Petit Louvre: Avignon OFF venue running multiple daily productions across the festival window. Comparable scale, summer-festival dependency, and repertoire focus.
• Théâtre du Palais des Papes: Iconic Festival IN venue in Avignon; runs the official festival programme with large-scale theatrical productions. Direct geographic peer during the Avignon period, although it sits on the IN rather than OFF side of the festival.
• Le Grenier à Sel (Avignon): Independent Avignon OFF venue offering a comparable festival and season programming mix, focused on contemporary and classical French theatre. Same geographic and seasonal peer set.
• Théâtre des Halles: Avignon OFF venue operating a comparable festival + winter season model with playwright-driven programming. Closely comparable in scale, seasonality, and target audience as a fellow Festival OFF theatre.
• Théâtre des Béliers: Avignon OFF theatre with a similar summer-festival-driven model, multi-slot daily programming, and French classical/comtemporary repertoire. Highly comparable in scale and audience.

Broad incumbents

• Royal Shakespeare Company: UK-based classical theatre institution producing Shakespeare and classical repertoire with an associated acting school. Comparable artistic positioning (classical authors, actor training, repertory model) at international, non-profit scale.
• Théâtre National Populaire (TNP): National theatre in Lyon/Villeurbanne producing classical and contemporary French repertoire with an educational mission. Comparable artistic positioning and education focus, at substantially larger scale.
• Comédie-Française: France's national theatre with a permanent troupe and classical repertoire including Molière. Comparable as a high-prestige French classical-theatre producer, but vastly larger and subsidised.
• Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier: Secondary Comédie-Française venue focused on classical repertoire. Comparable in repertoire emphasis (Molière, classical French authors), though operates as part of a much larger institution.

Regional players

• Théâtre de l'Atelier: Parisian private theatre producing classical and contemporary French repertoire. Comparable as a classical French producing theatre with a regular season, but located in Paris rather than Avignon.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/theatreduchenenoir
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCSe06WKNlfnxDAB2xmUxP9Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/chenenoir
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre-du-ch%C3%AAne-noir
• Instagraminstagram.com/theatreduchenenoir
• TikToktiktok.com/@theatreduchenenoir

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Théâtre du Chêne Noir