le petit théâtre de Lausanne

What le petit théâtre de Lausanne does

Le Petit Théâtre de Lausanne is a non-profit cultural foundation operating a single dedicated venue at Place de la Cathédrale 12 in Lausanne, Switzerland, presenting performing arts for young audiences (children aged 0-12) and their families. Under the direction of Sophie Gardaz since 2005, the theater programs a seasonal rotation of theater, dance, object theater, puppetry, music and new circus productions, supplemented by the Ateliers du 1er early-childhood workshops, school programming with pedagogical dossiers, accessibility services (audio description and French Sign Language) and off-site outreach activities. Core technology is limited to traditional stage, lighting, sound and video equipment; no digital platform, app, API or proprietary software exists, and ticket sales run through the website, box office and phone.

The institution is governed by a Conseil de Fondation and funded primarily by Ville de Lausanne and the Canton de Vaud, with additional support from Loterie Romande, Pro Helvetia and private foundations (Famille Sandoz, Leenaards, Gandur). Its core team numbers 15-20 staff plus seasonal collaborators. Pricing is highly accessible at 12-15 CHF per place, with reduced tiers for CarteCulture/AI holders, a 5 CHF Passculture youth rate, free admission for theater school students, and a 12 CHF school group rate. Audience revenue is supplemented by poster sales (A3 at 5 CHF, F4 at 15 CHF) and 15 CHF gift vouchers.

Commercially, Le Petit Théâtre operates a sales-led, direct-to-consumer model: tickets are sold at the box office, via the website, by phone, and through a Facebook ticket-exchange group, with group bookings (10+) handled by phone. The institution actively distributes content outward through a touring program with 10+ productions circulating to peer Romandie venues such as La Grenouille (Bienne), La Gare (Monthey), Théâtre Forum Meyrin and TKM (Renens), and shares production risk via coproduction partnerships with Cie Philippe Saire, Cie Prédum and others.

Name

le petit théâtre de Lausanne

Legal name

Le Petit Théâtre de Lausanne

Website

https://lepetittheatre.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Le Petit Théâtre de Lausanne is a non-profit foundation operating a single venue in Lausanne, Switzerland, dedicated to performing arts for young audiences (ages 0-12) and their families through seasonal programming, school outreach, and early-childhood workshops.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Theater / Performing Arts

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s & Youth Theatre (MPAGABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Touring Theatre Productions (MPAGABAC), Classical & Contemporary Theatre (Plays/Drama) (MPAGABAH)

Keywords

• Children's theater performances
• Performing arts venue
• School theater programs
• Early childhood workshops
• Live stage performances

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from individual and group ticket sales for performances and workshops
2. School Bookings: Revenue from school group bookings at 12 CHF per place, with transport reimbursement for schools outside Lausanne
3. Poster Sales: Sale of theater posters in A3 (5 CHF) and F4 (15 CHF) formats
4. Gift Vouchers: Gift vouchers (Bons Cadeaux) priced at 15 CHF, valid for one admission

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Le Petit Théâtre de Lausanne is a performing arts venue dedicated exclusively to young audiences (children aged 0-12) that produces and presents a seasonal program of live theater, dance, object theater, puppetry, music, and new circus performances. It supplements ticketed performances with early-childhood workshops (Ateliers du 1er), a dedicated school program with pedagogical materials, and accessibility services (audio description and French Sign Language interpretation).

Product overview

Le Petit Théâtre de Lausanne operates as a single-venue performing arts institution dedicated to young audiences. The core offering centers on a seasonally programmed series of theater, dance, puppetry, and object theater performances for children and families. Supporting products include Ateliers du 1er (early childhood workshops for 0-3 year olds), a dedicated school program with pedagogical materials, accessibility services (audio description and sign language interpretation in partnership with Écoute Voir), and professional resources including technical documentation and press kits. The theater also maintains a ticket sales system with loyalty cards and gift vouchers, and offers outreach activities including La Course d'école, Circulac'tions, and Bouche à Oreille. No platform-plus-modules architecture exists; products are facility-based services centered on the physical theater venue.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Season Program 2026-2027 (Theater Performances) Annual seasonal program of live performing arts productions for young audiences aged 2.5-12 years, including theater, dance, object theater, puppetry, and music. The 2026-2027 season features productions such as Okilélé, Bachibouzouk, Le Plongeon, Autour du feu, Moomin et la comète, Le Dernier Yéti, Toi M'aimes, Dégueu, Nos jours de fêtes, and Fusées (at TKM).
• Ateliers du 1er (Early Childhood Workshops) Early-childhood artistic awakening workshops for children aged 0-3 years and their caregivers, held at the Espace 1er of the theater. Sessions are led by professional artists and cultural facilitators (e.g., Helena Petersen, Ebullarium, EnVies) and focus on sensory exploration and creative development. Priced at 5 CHF per person for children and adults.
• School Program (Programme scolaire) Dedicated educational programming for school groups from preschool (écoles enfantines) through secondary level, with age-appropriate performances, pedagogical documents, and special reservation procedures. School pricing is 12 CHF per place with one free accompanying adult per class, plus transport reimbursement for schools outside Lausanne. IPE Réseau-L (Lausanne Early Childhood Network) places are fully subsidized by Ville de Lausanne.

Quantifiable outcome

• Subsidized school transport reimbursement for schools outside Lausanne
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, coproduction, venue partnership and minor.

• Écoute VoircoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAccessibility partner providing audio description and French Sign Language (LSF) interpretation services for disabled audiences, enabling performances to be accessible to people with visual or hearing impairments
• IPE Réseau-L (Lausanne Early Childhood Network)coreOthersEarly childhood education network whose places are fully subsidized by Ville de Lausanne for performances at the theater
• La Gare, arts et jeunesse (Monthey)coproductionStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoproduction partner for various performances including Bachibouzouk
• La Grenouille - Centre théâtre jeune public (Bienne)coproductionStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoproduction partner and theater for young audiences in French-speaking Switzerland
• Théâtre Forum MeyrincoproductionStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoproduction partner for performances including Moomin et la comète
• TKM – Théâtre Kléber-Méleau (Renens)venue partnershipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for the Fusées performance, an external venue partnership for larger productions
• Association PAIRESminorOthersAsylum support association receiving one free ticket for each purchased ticket (special offer)
• Action ParrainageminorOthersSponsorship action organization receiving one free ticket for each purchased ticket (special offer)

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• TKM – Théâtre Kléber-Méleau: Renens-based institutional theater with a broader dramatic and contemporary programming mandate, including dedicated young-audience productions (e.g., Fusées). Functions as a venue partner and a larger, more generalist incumbent in the Vaud theater ecosystem.
• Le Maillon: Strasbourg-based European theater offering a dedicated young-audience program alongside its broader stage programming. Comparable in offering French-language family and school programming in a cross-border region adjacent to Romandie.
• La Comédie de Genève: Large Geneva institutional theater with a broader dramatic and contemporary mandate, including family-oriented programming. Represents a larger, more generalist incumbent in the same French-speaking Swiss theater ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Theater an der Parkaue: Berlin state theater dedicated exclusively to young audiences, with a multi-genre program (theater, dance, puppetry) and a strong school and pedagogical mandate. Closest European cross-border analog in artistic scope and educational integration.
• La Grenouille - Centre théâtre jeune public: Bienne-based theatre dedicated to young audiences in the Swiss Romandie, with a coproduction partnership with Le Petit Théâtre. The two institutions share the same French-language jeune public mandate, target age bands, and school programming orientation.
• Am Stram Gram: Geneva-based theater dedicated to young audiences, including very early childhood, with a comparable artistic brief (theater, dance, puppetry, new circus) and a similar public-funded, non-profit foundation governance model. Closest big-city analog to Le Petit Théâtre in Romandie.
• La Guimbarde: Swiss Romandie venue programming theater for young audiences and very early childhood, with comparable pricing, school tour activity, and a dedicated pedagogical offering. Functions as a near-direct substitute for school and family audiences in the same linguistic market.
• Théâtre Forum Meyrin: Meyrin-based public theater producing and hosting programming for young audiences and families. Active coproduction partner with Le Petit Théâtre on productions such as Moomin et la comète, operating in the same Romandie school and family market.
• Junges Schauspielhaus Zürich: Youth department of Schauspielhaus Zürich, one of Switzerland's leading dedicated young-audience theater programs. Comparable in mission (theater for young audiences) and in drawing on a mix of public funding and ticket revenue, though at materially larger scale.
• La Gare, arts et jeunesse: Monthey-based venue specializing in arts for young audiences, listed as a coproduction partner on multiple Le Petit Théâtre productions. Operates a similar petite-scale, family- and school-oriented model in French-speaking Switzerland.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lepetittheatre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/le-petit-th-tre-de-lausanne

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 le petit théâtre de Lausanne