Created in 1999 by François Delaroziere, La Compagnie La Machine is a street theatre company based in Nantes. She creates large machines, which she stages during shows in the public space. The Company notably signed «Les Mécaniques Savantes» with two giant spiders in Liverpool and Yokohama, «Long Ma Jing Shen, the Dragon Horse» for the city of Beijing or «Le Dragon de Calais». The company also creates perennial machines that accompany projects of urbanization or rehabilitation of district like Le Grand Éléphant de Nantes or Le Minotaure in Toulouse.
During the Heritage Days, the Compagnie La Machine opens its workshop for the first time to introduce the general public to the techniques, trades and know-how that surround the construction of these monumental machines in motion.