Tucked snugly beside the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Werklund Centre, the Martha Cohen Theatre is a beloved venue in the heart of downtown. Home to Alberta Theatre Projects since its opening in 1985, the venue is named after Dr. Martha Cohen, one of the incredible women who spearheaded the development and building of the Calgary Centre for Performing Arts.
“For me, the Martha Cohen Theatre is all about intimacy and connection,” says Haysam Khadri, Artistic Director of Alberta Theatre Projects. “It’s a space where artists and audiences are really in it together. It’s big enough to handle ambitious work, but small enough that you can feel every breath and every subtle moment on stage.”
Taking inspiration from classic Shakespearean houses, the Martha Cohen wraps around the stage, giving a closeness that you can’t experience in larger theatres. It also has three configurations: proscenium, cabaret, and thrust, which vastly changes the audience experience of a show.
Photos by Kiani Evans
“The space adapts to the story you want to tell,” says Khadri. “That freedom to experiment with form and staging is rare, and it’s what keeps me excited both as a director and as an audience member.”
In the recent performance of The Seafarer at the Martha Cohen Theatre, Canadian icon Paul Gross called the space a “little jewel box” which in many ways feels like a perfect encapsulation. It’s warm, both visually and acoustically, and even in the top level, you’re surprisingly close to the action on stage. This creates an immersive experience that can be uniquely powerful.
For many Calgarians, the Martha Cohen Theatre holds a special place, whether it was experiencing their first live performance as a child, seeing their work performed on stage for the first time as part of the venues long-standing history of presenting new works, or even an unexpected moment of discovery. For Khadri, his affection for the Martha Cohen Theatre goes back long before he was Artistic Director at Alberta Theatre Projects.
“I remember sitting in the audience in the mid-90s watching a production of Oleanna at ATP and thinking, “I want to be an actor.” Moments like that are why the Martha Cohen has always held a special place in my heart.”