Scarabeus Aerial Theatre

What Scarabeus Aerial Theatre does

Scarabeus Aerial Theatre is a UK-registered charity and company limited by guarantee (Charity no. 1063689; Company no. 3319939) founded in 1988 by Daniela Essart and Søren Nielsen. Operating from Caxton House Community Centre in London with a team of approximately 9 people, the organisation creates and delivers aerial theatre performances, site-specific productions, and participation programmes for children, young people, and families. Its core technical capabilities include rigging, abseiling, harness work, vertical dance, and physical theatre, with pioneering expertise in site-specific performance in unusual locations such as tall buildings, trees, tall ships, and disused satellite dishes.

The portfolio spans three interconnected lines: professional performances (flagship works include Powerflex, Cara Mamma, Emerging, Depths of My Mind, Hear Us Roar, and Quilting Buildings Building Communities); corporate entertainment (site-specific aerial acts, silks and ropes, stilt performances, and team-building experiences); and free community programmes (Take Flight for 13–25-year-olds, Flying Families, Flying into Physics, Shifting Point PSHE curriculum, Airborne, and My Mind Is Like The Sky). Corporate commissions are bespoke and quote-based, while community programmes are offered at no cost to beneficiaries. Distribution is via direct corporate bookings ([email protected]), school and community partnerships across London boroughs, and touring through UK festivals and venues.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid model combining commercial corporate performance fees and grant/donation income from over 25 funders including Arts Council England, Wellcome Trust, BBC Children in Need, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, John Lyon's Charity, City Bridge Trust, National Lottery funds, and local authorities. The organisation reaches approximately 900 children and families annually and is currently actively producing new work, including the Cara Mamma documentary which premiered at BFI Flare in 2024 and was released on The Guardian Documentaries platform.

Name

Scarabeus Aerial Theatre

Legal name

Scarabeus Aerial Theatre

Website

https://scarabeus.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Scarabeus Aerial Theatre is a London-based registered charity founded in 1988 that produces site-specific aerial theatre performances, corporate entertainment, and free community participation programmes for disadvantaged children, young people, and families across London and the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Services

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Dance Companies (711120), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Circus & Physical Theatre (MPAGABAL)

Keywords

• Aerial theatre
• Circus performance
• Site-specific performance
• Community arts program
• Corporate entertainment

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Event Performances: Professional aerial performances for corporate hospitality events including product launches, conferences, trade fairs, and team building. Bespoke commissions with direct booking through email.
2. Grant Funding and Donations: Registered charity receiving support from Arts Council England, trusts, foundations, and individual donors. Funding supports community programmes and creative engagement projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Scarabeus Aerial Theatre is a London-based registered charity that creates and delivers aerial theatre performances and participation projects. The organization produces site-specific aerial performances, corporate entertainment (aerial acts, stilt performances, team building), and free community/education programmes for children, young people and families in disadvantaged communities across London.

Product overview

Scarabeus Aerial Theatre is a performing arts organization offering three interconnected service areas: professional performances (touring shows, site-specific productions, and short films), corporate entertainment (aerial performances, stilt acts, team building experiences), and community/participation programmes (aerial skills workshops for youth, families, and schools). The portfolio includes flagship productions such as Hear Us Roar, Cara Mamma, Emerging, Powerflex, and Depths Of My Mind, alongside corporate offerings like Flying on the Wall, Silks & Ropes, and Stilt Performances. Community programmes include Take Flight (youth aerial acrobatics), Shifting Point (healthy relationships education), Flying into Physics (physics education through aerial skills), Flying Families, Airborne, and My Mind Is Like The Sky.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hear Us Roar An intergenerational aerial dance theatre performance featuring ageing female performers and non-binary emerging artists who unravel their lives through aerial dance/theatre.
• Cara Mamma A documentary made by Sky Neal from Satya Film over three years, inspired by intimate letters between a mother and her transgender son during his transition.
• Emerging A stage-to-screen film centred on the relationship between a transgender son and his mother, exploring themes of gender, identity and representation through aerial theatre.
• Powerflex A vertical aerial theatre piece where the building becomes the vessel for exploring power, featuring four aerial artists expressing themes of energy, strength, grace, dignity and flying.
• Quilting Buildings, Building Communities An aerial dance theatre collaboration with Quilt Club and Gravity & Levity that wraps buildings with patchwork quilts created with local communities, which aerialists then animate.
• Depths Of My Mind A show combining aerial skills, visual theatre, pulsating soundtrack and stunning projections that brings to life developments in neuroscience around the teenage brain.
• Flying on the Wall Site-specific commissions using rigging and abseiling expertise to animate outdoor or indoor spaces, with aerial performers climbing and abseiling in gravity-defying drops.
• Silks & Ropes Aerial performances featuring graceful bodies twisting and curling above audience heads, with silks adding understated elegance and corde lisse providing raw energy.
• Stilt Performances Variety of stilt performances including Sizzling Flamenco (10-feet high flaming red mantillas), Skywalkers (elegant white costumes) and Blue Creatures (glittery cabaret-style routines).
• Team Building Bespoke team building and bonding away day packages using circus skills to improve cooperation, problem solving, communication and trust.
• Take Flight A free year-long inclusive aerial acrobatics programme for young people aged 13-25, introducing aerial skills including elastic cocoons, silks, hoop and Chinese Pole.
• Shifting Point An experiential programme for primary schools to better understand and promote Healthy Relationships using an arts-based approach, linked to the PSHE curriculum.
• Flying into Physics Teaches physics to KS2 children through aerial flying, making science approachable and accessible using creative aerial techniques to explore physical forces.
• Flying Families A free programme of creative and physical aerial workshops for grown-ups and their children, offering bonding opportunities and building self-confidence in a safe environment.
• Airborne A 10-week programme providing children an introduction to the art of aerial theatre, building physical literacy, inner trust and self-belief.
• My Mind Is Like The Sky A collaboration with Keys Meadow Primary School taking audiences on an emotional journey from a child's perspective, exploring positive and negative emotions through aerial dance theatre.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reaches up to 900 children and families annually across London and nationally
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• The LowrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-commissioner of Powerflex site-specific aerial theatre and Emerging film. Key venue partner for performances and productions.
• London International Mime FestivalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-commissioner of Emerging film. Festival venue partner for aerial theatre performances.
• National Centre for Circus ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey supporter providing training, resources, and venue support for aerial skills development. Listed as supporter of multiple productions.
• Caxton House Community CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partner providing space for Take Flight sessions. Co-funder supporting young people's programmes.
• Jacksons LanemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue supporter for productions. Associate producer relationship through Flora Herberich.
• Satya FilmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for Cara Mamma documentary. Director Sky Neal from Satya Films produced the film.
• LYFTAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned short version of Cara Mamma documentary.
• Gravity & LevitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner on Quilting Buildings, Building Communities project, providing aerial and vertical dance workshops.
• Quilt ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative collaborator on Quilting Buildings, Building Communities project creating patchwork quilts for building wraps.
• South East DancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporter of Hear Us Roar production for ageing female performers and non-binary artists.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• National Centre for Circus Arts: UK's primary circus training institution and a Scarabeus supporter/partner. Comparable in the broader aerial/circus ecosystem but operates training and venue services rather than producing Scarabeus-style site-specific shows.
• Cirque du Soleil: Global leader in theatrical circus and aerial entertainment. Directly relevant because Søren Nielsen consults for Cirque du Soleil; comparable aerial rigging and performance discipline but at vastly different scale and commercial model.

Direct peers

• Kneehigh Theatre: Touring UK theatre company known for visually ambitious, physical productions. Comparable in touring scale, festival presence, and audience expectations around theatrical and visual spectacle.
• Frantic Assembly: Leading UK physical theatre company producing touring productions and education programmes. Comparable physical theatre approach, UK touring profile, and dual professional/community delivery model.
• Ockham's Razor: UK-based aerial and circus theatre company creating physical, visually distinctive touring productions. Most directly comparable to Scarabeus in its combination of aerial work, site-specific performance, and UK touring/festival circuit presence.
• NoFit State Circus: Wales-based contemporary circus company producing large-scale touring productions and community programmes. Comparable aerial/acrobatic methodology and dual professional/community programming model.
• Acrojou: UK circus theatre company producing site-specific and touring physical performances. Comparable in its use of unusual locations, acrobatic/aerial technique, and similar festival/venue distribution channels.
• Upswing: Aerial and circus performance company producing touring shows and participatory programmes. Comparable in its blend of professional performance and community/education work, and overlapping target audiences.
• Gravity & Levity: Aerial dance company specialising in vertical and aerial performance. Already a Scarabeus collaborator on Quilting Buildings, Building Communities, with directly overlapping aerial/vertical dance methodology and audience profile.
• Motionhouse: Physical dance theatre company blending acrobatics, dance, and athletic performance for touring productions. Comparable to Scarabeus's aerial/physical theatre hybrid programming and UK venue circuit distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/scarabeusaerial
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/scarabeustheatre
• Facebookfacebook.com/scarabeusaerial
• Instagraminstagram.com/scarabeusaerial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scarabeus-aerial-theatre

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 Scarabeus Aerial Theatre