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Calgary Theatre Guide

Calgary's downtown core houses five superb theatre companies, each with their own diverse style. Use our guide to find the Calgary theatre company best suited to your tastes    

Travelling performers often comment on the density of Calgary's theatre scene at its core. Although other cities have theatre districts, none really have the gem of a downtown theatre scene that Calgary boasts.

Nestled around the base of the Calgary Tower, there are five proper theatres and a handful of other flexible spaces used for performance all within three blocks of each other.

The diversity of performances and companies is growing all the time, so choosing your theatre spot can be daunting.

Here are a few picks to help you plan your night out:

Sage Theatre

A Sage production has a very distinct flavour, thanks to the attention to detail in every step of the process. From play selection, design, direction and performance, every ingredient is top quality.

Set, sound, and lights are just as memorable as the risky and powerful performances. Sage often places the performance right at the center of the audience, putting the audience mere inches away from the actor. Sage is challenging the theatre community in Calgary to strive for excellence in every aspect of production.

One Yellow Rabbit

One of the longest-running creation ensembles in Canada, and a resident theatre company of The EPCOR Centre, the Rabbits use a blend of performance disciplines to expose the viewer to the truths of their favorite subject: people.

The Rabbits' shows, all creation-based projects written by the ensemble, tend to be more adult and stress a larger theatrical vocabulary, using schools and disciplines of theatre often unseen by the casual observer like contact improvisation and movement study. The Rabbits tell emotionally evocative stories, sometimes without even saying a word.

Alberta Theatre Projects

Another one of the resident theatre companies at EPCOR Centre, ATP is a mainstay of theatre in Calgary. For almost 40 years, ATP has been committed to producing Canadian content, and has given many new Canadian plays their world premiers.

The work showcased by ATP is diverse, but more family friendly then the other companies listed. Even still, thanks to its strong programming and a gorgeous home in the Martha Cohen Theatre, a night out at ATP is suitable for a date, or just taking in the scene on your own or with friends.

Ground Zero Theatre

Sometimes described as "guy-friendly theatre", GZT has produced some of the most enjoyable productions to come through Calgary. Darker, more guns, and more gore tend to be the hallmarks of most of its shows.

GZT productions can host light-hearted tours through deeply disturbing material, or honest takes on situations that sit outside of polite conversation. Somehow, it almost always stays fun, even when the content has you squirming in your seat.

GZT seems to have had a bit of an obsession with blood effects lately. Consider yourself warned.

Urban Curvz Theatre

The UCT crew has done some amazing work in the five years since the company's inception. Sticking hard and fast to its mandate of providing challenging opportunities for female performers in the city, UCT has produced some of the most powerful shows of the past seasons, and is gearing up for the return of their Heroines Series, a collection of new work from emerging female artists.

Yet, the productions never feel restricted by their mandate, all produced with class, smarts, wit, and a strong voice. There is no doubt that the UCT players have established themselves as professionals who aren't going anywhere.

Downstage Theatre

Another young company that has proven to be intelligent and capable of creating great new theatre, Downstage specializes in political discussions with a strength for creative storytelling through different disciplines.

Social awareness and audience engagement is stressed in all of the shows that Downstage Theatre creates, and they actively work with emerging artists creating new work through their Uprising festival. Downstage and Urban Curvz both stand as shining examples of the next wave of theatre in Calgary.