Opgang2

What Opgang2 does

Opgang2 is a self-governing Danish cultural institution (selvejende kulturinstitution) founded in 1972 in Aarhus, operating a 50-year integrated portfolio of professional touring youth theater, film production, and youth community programming. Its core product, OPGANG2 Turnéteater, annually premieres new productions at Aarhus Teater before touring nationwide to schools, efterskoler, high schools, language schools, and cultural venues under a standardized 14,500 DKK ex. VAT per-performance license for audiences up to 150. All productions are refusionsgodkendt, allowing public institutions to recover 50% of cost from the state. The catalog spans more than 20 productions over the past 15 years, including the Reumert Award-winning '4 EVER' (2014), 'HABIBI' (Danske Dramatikere Manuscript Prize 2017), 'PRES' (2025), and 'HJERTEBANK' (2026-27 tour).

The technology stack is non-software: a mobile touring format requiring a 6x6m stage with 3.5m clearance and 50-55 minute runtimes, complemented by a parallel film production arm producing mobile-optimized portrait films, the monthly poetic almanac '12 Digte – 12 Måneder', and documentary series such as '3 Minutter i Gellerup' and 'Himlen Over Os'. Notable production innovations include the 'track-forestilling' format, which structures independent short stories in sequence to mirror youth media-consumption patterns.

Commercially, the company operates a hybrid revenue model: per-performance booking fees to schools and municipalities, multi-year grant funding from Statens Kunstfonds Projektstøtteudvalg for Scenekunst, Aarhus Municipality support for Ungdomssporet, Danish Arts Council project grants, and professional services revenue from workshops and idékataloger. It is led by founder Søren Marcussen (theater and film) and Teaterchef/dramatist Pia Marcussen (touring theater), with a stable administrative team handling sales (Thomas Lassen), administration (Per Kjærgaard Paulsen), project management (Lise Ørskov), and theater pedagogy (Lotte Wagner). All revenue is non-equity, public-sector or institutional in origin.

Name

Opgang2

Legal name

Opgang2

Website

https://opgang2.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Opgang2 is a self-governing Danish cultural institution that produces and tours professional youth theater to schools nationwide, produces mobile-optimized film and poetry series, and runs the Ungdomssporet youth community program in Aarhus.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Theater / Performing Arts

NAICS

Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (711510), Musical Groups and Artists (71113), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Student & Youth Educational Tours (THAKAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Performing Arts, Music & Theatre Group Tours (THAKAGAH)

Keywords

• Youth theater productions
• Touring performing arts
• Cultural engagement programs
• Drama workshops
• Documentary film series

Headquarters

HQ city

Aarhus

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Theater performance bookings: Direct sales of touring theater performances to schools, municipalities, and cultural institutions. Standard pricing at 14,500 DKK ex. VAT per performance for up to 150 audience members. Municipal institutions can claim 50% state reimbursement through the national refusion scheme.
2. Grants and public funding: Three-year agreement with Statens Kunstfonds Projektstøtteudvalg for Scenekunst (State Arts Foundation's Performing Arts Committee). Additional funding from Aarhus Municipality cultural funds and project-specific support from the Danish Arts Council.
3. Ungdomssporet leisure program: Artistic leisure program for youth operated in partnership with Aarhus Municipality as a special activation effort for young people struggling to find their place in the education system.
4. Educational materials and workshops: Idekataloger (idea catalogs) and workshop offerings associated with performances, including the 'Andre Horisonter' project providing workshops for groups of 10-50 young people in educational and leisure sectors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Opgang2 produces professional touring youth theater (Turnéteater) that premieres at Aarhus Teater in Aarhus and tours nationwide to Danish schools, efterskoler, gymnasiums, language centers, and cultural institutions, with a standardized 14,500 DKK ex. VAT per-performance fee that is refusiongodkendt (50% state-reimbursable for public buyers). Alongside the touring theater, it runs Ungdomssporet, an in-person artistic leisure program for youth in Aarhus delivered in partnership with Aarhus Municipality, produces documentary and poetry film series (3 Minutter i Gellerup, Himlen Over Os, 12 Digte – 12 Måneder), and offers accompanying educational materials and workshops (Andre Horisonter, idékataloger) tied to its productions.

Product overview

Opgang2 is a cultural arts organization based in Aarhus, Denmark, founded in 1972. The organization operates as a platform comprising multiple distinct product lines: (1) Turnéteater (Touring Theater) - a professional touring youth theater producing annual productions that premiere at Aarhus Teater and tour nationwide, including current productions like PRES (2025-), HJERTEBANK (2026-27), and HABIBI (2024), alongside the 'Hjerte Rimer på Smerte' trilogy; (2) Film productions including documentary series like 'Himlen Over Os' and '3 minutter i Gellerup', plus the poetic film series '12 Digte – 12 Måneder'; (3) Ungdomsspor - an artistic leisure program for young people in Aarhus; (4) Kulturpas - a cultural pass program; (5) Andre Horisonter - an educational workshop project; and (6) various digital content including podcasts and poetry salons. All offerings are centered on youth development through arts, culture, and theater, with a focus on debate-creating youth theater that addresses contemporary social issues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ungdomssporet: An artistic leisure offering for youth in Aarhus, a special activation effort in collaboration with Århus Municipality for youth who have difficulty finding their way in the education system.
• Opgang2s Livsteater
• JALLA-festivaler

Products and services

• Turnéteater (Touring Theater Program) Professional touring youth theater program that creates and tours annual theater productions across Denmark; all productions premiere at Aarhus Teater and tour nationwide to schools and venues at 14,500 DKK ex. VAT per performance (refusiongodkendt).
• PRES A track-based touring theater production about youth pressures; targets audiences from age 14 (7th grade), approximately 55 minutes, refusiongodkendt.
• HJERTEBANK A musical touring theater production about young love, following a young man's journey to his first date with a dream girl matched on a dating app; tour period 2026-27.
• HABIBI A youth theater production about identity, differences and fear when a Danish girl suddenly can only speak Arabic; 2017 Manuscript Prize winner, with a 2024 revival version.
• HVOR STJERNERNE BLINKER (STJERNERNE) A musical theater fable about a pampered cat whose family flees war and travels through Europe to reunite; tour period 2023-24.
• SOMMERHUSET A theater thriller about power and powerlessness, portraying a 17-year-old in a summer house with professional caregivers; tour period 2022-2024.
• 4 EVER A musical theater story about four young men whose fate was sealed on a frosty winter day; Reumert Award winner 2014 for Best Children's/Youth Production; tour period 2013-2022.
• TO A musical production about unbreakable friendship between two people where everything is at stake; refusiongodkendt for municipal institutions; tour period autumn 2019 and spring 2020.
• Ungdomsspor (Youth Track Program) An artistic leisure-time program in Aarhus for young people, providing creative workshops and activities in music, visual arts, photography, and theater as an alternative to formal education paths, run in partnership with Aarhus Municipality.
• Kulturpas A cultural pass program offering young people access to cultural experiences and activities as part of the "Sammen Ud i Verden" 2025-26 initiative.
• Andre Horisonter A multi-year educational theater and community project providing workshops for groups of 10-50 young people across three housing areas in Aarhus, including Jalla festivals and ongoing community engagement.
• 3 minutter i Gellerup (film series) A 52-episode series of three-minute portrait films about people connected to the Gellerup housing area in Aarhus, co-produced with Filmværket for digital distribution on phones and tablets.
• Himlen Over Os (film series) A 12-episode portrait film series by Søren Marcussen featuring young men with non-Danish ethnic backgrounds and their goals for life, formatted as mobile-optimized films for phones and tablets.
• 12 Digte – 12 Måneder (film series) A monthly poetic film almanac where each month gets its own filmic piece of poetry with images and music, created by Søren Marcussen and produced with Sune Liltorp / Plotpoint Film since 2019; also performed live with full orchestra.
• Podcast (Ungdomsspor) Digital podcast content produced by Opgang2 as part of its Ungdomsspor youth programming offerings.
• Digitale Strejf (Digital Poetry Salons) Digital poetry salons based on Søren Marcussen's "Rå Magi – Strejf af Poesi" poetry project, with interpretations in Danish, Arabic and Greenlandic.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50+ years of continuous operation demonstrating sustained community impact and organizational viability
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gellerupområdet (Gellerup, Bisbebuen,长三角)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Multi-year project 'Andre Horisonter' developed mobile local theater in connection with three housing areas in Aarhus: Gellerup, Bisbebu EN, and长三角. Includes Jalla festivals and ongoing community engagement.
• FilmværketcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Collaboration with Filmværket on '3 Minutter i Gellerup' series of 52 portrait films. Filmværket co-produced the series with Søren Marcussen, expanding OPGANG2's film production capabilities and community reach.
• Plotpoint Film (Sune Liltorp)coreTechnology or IntegrationOngoing collaboration with Sune Liltorp and Plotpoint Film on digital poetry films including 12 Digte - 12 Måneder. Handles filming and production of all digital content.
• Aarhus KommunecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormalized partnership with Aarhus Municipality for Ungdomssporet as a special activation program for youth, and ongoing collaboration on cultural projects including Andre Horisonter.
• Aarhus TeatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAll OPGANG2 touring productions premiere at Aarhus Teater, providing prestigious venue and visibility for new work before national touring.
• Det Grønlandske Hus AarhusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Danish-Greenlandic salon as part of the Rå Magi poetry project, held at the Greenlandic House in Aarhus with Greenlandic language interpretations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hjernekassen / Det Danske Filminstitut: Danish Film Institute produces educational film content including Hjernekassen educational shorts that compete for school attention budgets. Larger institutional player providing film-based educational content with similar audience (Danish school students) but via film rather than live theater.

Direct peers

• Månegøgl: Danish touring children's theater company that produces refusiongodkendt professional performances for schools. Directly competes for the same school booking market with similar touring infrastructure and standardized pricing model.
• Teater Refleksion: Aarhus-based touring theater producing object theater and visual performances for children and youth. Same city and similar youth theater focus, with comparable touring infrastructure across Danish schools and institutions.
• Team Teatret: Touring youth theater producing professional productions for Danish school audiences. Comparable in scale, product format, and target buyer (educational institutions), competing for the same booking calendar.
• Teater V / ZeBU: Denmark's most prominent producer of touring children's and youth theater with a similar model of producing professional productions that tour to schools nationwide. Closest comparable peer in target market (Danish schools), product (youth theater productions), and distribution model (refusiongodkendt touring performances).
• Zangenbergs Teater: Danish theater producing performances for children and young audiences, with touring to schools and cultural institutions. Comparable target market and youth theater programming in the Danish institutional market.
• C:NTACT: Copenhagen-based youth theater company producing social-realist performances touring to schools and youth institutions across Denmark. Comparable in target audience (marginalised youth), thematic focus (identity, social issues), and touring infrastructure.
• Det Olske Orkester: Aarhus-based performing arts company producing experimental theater and community-focused performances with marginalised youth. Overlaps with Opgang2's community-driven youth activation model and geographic footprint in Aarhus.
• Aveny-T: Copenhagen-based theater company with a strong focus on youth and young adult audiences, producing contemporary productions that tour. Comparable in artistic ambition and youth-targeted programming, though primarily Copenhagen-based rather than Aarhus.

Regional players

• Teatret Gruppe 38: Aarhus-based contemporary theater producing performances for diverse audiences including youth. Same Aarhus cultural scene but operates from a dedicated venue rather than touring model; less direct overlap but thematically comparable.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/opgang2
• Instagraminstagram.com/opgang2
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/opgang2

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Opgang2