Our Worst Kept Secret

Flexible, quirky, experimental, and beloved, the Big Secret Theatre is a truly unique venue overlooking Centre Court at Werklund Centre. The space opened in 1987 as a small lounge called the Secret Theatre. In 1995, it was expanded and reopened as the aptly named Big Secret Theatre, now home to One Yellow Rabbit.

“The Big Secret is more than a theatre, it’s a gathering place, a party room, a rehearsal hall, a creation vehicle and a hangout,” says Oliver Armstrong, Producer of One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo. “The artist training, experimentation and joy that has occurred in that room since the 90s is suffused into the paint on the walls and air in the space.”

As a black box theatre, the Big Secret has always been a space for creative exploration. Its seating can be reconfigured to suit each production, while the black floor and walls allow the room itself to disappear through lighting, props, and clever staging. Over the years, One Yellow Rabbit and many community groups have transformed the space for every type of live art imaginable. It has also provided a beautiful setting for new Canadian works, including Theatre Calgary’s sold-out 2025 run of Awoowaakii and FlipSide Theatre Collective’s original Filipino musical adaptation of The Little Mermaid, presented this past spring.

“I’ve attended weddings, funerals and every form of performance art in that space. But I’ll never forget my introduction to the Big Secret with a sold out, 3-week run of In Klezkavania in 2005,” says Armstrong. “Full houses and lines at the bar every day, and the party continued until after midnight every night.”

One of the early shows that the Rabbits presented in the Big Secret Theatre was Doing Leonard Cohen, a creative stage experience featuring Cohen’s poetry, prose and music. Ahead of opening night, Leonard Cohen sent a beautiful bouquet of yellow roses to the cast, along with a note that read: Love, Leonard Cohen. To this day, yellow roses hold a special place in the hearts of the One Yellow Rabbit Ensemble and you can often see these flowers make an appearance in current productions like Denise Clarke's Salon, presented as part of the 2025 High Performance Rodeo. The next time you're in the Big Secret Theatre, take a moment to appreciate a space that holds such history for the Calgary creative community, and see if you can find the card from Mr. Cohen, which is framed with one of the roses.

Header photo by Benjamin Laird. Photos courtesy of One Yellow Rabbit.