我们的历史
Our
History
2018年的秋天，我们在金士顿女王大学创立了虞剧社（Queen’s Yu Theatre Society），也是多伦多虞剧社（Yu Theatre Toronto）的前身。作为第一个现当代华语剧社，社团秉持的理念是：以华语原创或以华语为第一语言创作的戏剧为载体，在这片土地上分享我们的世界观，传递我们对舞台的独特热爱。
“虞剧社”之名取自历史故事《霸王别姬》中西楚霸王项羽的挚爱——虞姬。这个故事长期以来是华语文学与艺术经久不衰的题材。京剧大师梅兰芳的同名剧目成为经典，而陈凯歌导演、张国荣主演的电影《霸王别姬》也将这一意象推向世界电影舞台。“虞”字不仅承载着美学上的独特意象，其本义中亦有忧思与牵挂之意。美与思的结合，正是虞剧社自始至终所追求的目标。
初次登台：《恋爱的犀牛》
2019年3月，虞剧社迎来了第一部作品——廖一梅的《恋爱的犀牛》。历经五个月的排练与筹备，该剧在 Isabel Bader Centre Studio Theatre 连演五场，场场满座，全部售罄。作为女王大学历史上首部登台的非英语话剧，演出配有英文字幕投影，使观众群体得以跨越语言壁垒。演出不仅在校内引起轰动，也吸引了金斯顿当地媒体的广泛关注，包括 Kingston Global News、Queen’s Journal、Queen’s Alumni Review 等报道，并登上了女王大学官网首页。
在2019年7月1日的微信公众平台总结文章中，我们写道：
“这就是我们开始的地方，从一个不甘平凡的想法，到一群不惧困难的伙伴，再到一场场惊艳四座的演出。在舞台上，我们从不愿成为交答案的人。要做就做出题者。”
这次实践不仅是演出的成功，更是一种跨文化交流的探索。通过翻译与字幕，我们首次将两种语言的使用者共同邀请进同一个戏剧空间——无论是观众，还是幕后制作团队。社团成员来自各个领域：戏剧学院的学生、国际留学生、华人二代移民、甚至本地英语母语者。这样新颖而大胆的尝试很快进入课堂，成为当年戏剧学院课程中的案例。而在语言壁垒与文化冲击中曾难以找到机会的成员们，也因虞剧社的实践逐渐找到了属于自己的舞台。
原创的起点：Yu Junior 双剧目
同年11月，虞剧社推出了首个原创剧集 Yu Junior (Double Bill)，由两部新作组成：黄羽裳（Shirley Huang）的《午夜之约》（Midnight Rendezvous）与郭恺然（Billy Guo）、娄思乔（Jessica Lou）改编自朱西宁小说的短剧《铁浆》（Molten）。
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《午夜之约》讲述了留学生初来乍到的爱情故事，在甜蜜与苦涩交织的青春叙事中，描绘中西文化在爱情观上的碰撞与和解。
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《铁浆》则改编自朱西宁同名小说，展现了旧时中国两大家族为争夺官盐承运权而展开的残酷斗争，揭示了在利益与封建观念压迫下的人性失衡。
这两部原创剧同样以普通话表演，并配以英文字幕。至此，虞剧社不仅在翻译与演绎现有经典的基础上积累经验，更开始探索属于自己的风格和原创表达。
经典重现：《雷雨·节日》
2020年1月，虞剧社将曹禺的经典之作《雷雨》重新编排，推出改编版本《雷雨·节日》，并于当年春节期间在金斯顿市中心的 Kingston Grand Theatre 小剧场（Baby Grand）上演。该改编着重强调“节日”的概念。Freedom Wei在2019年11月10日微信推文中写到
“节日”既是过去，也是未来。它是过去那为数不多温馨柔软的回忆，也是人们对未来的期待与盼望。在日复一日的煎熬和劳作里，每一个人都在想着，只要到了“节日”那天，一切都会好起来。在这里，我们赋予故事里的人物想象的力量，他们每一个人都会想象出一幅“节日“的幻景，用以抵抗现实的苦痛，折磨与荒谬。（Freedom Wei，2019年11月10日微信推文）
此次制作在艺术手法上进行了新的尝试，首次加入原创音乐，并以中西合璧的乐器进行伴奏——琵琶与小提琴同台演绎。《雷雨·节日》延续了原作的核心主题，讲述二十世纪二十年代一个笼罩在封建枷锁下的资产阶级家庭的悲剧，首次使用双字幕屏来对剧情进行即时翻译，尝试构建跨越时空的共鸣。
疫情中的转折：线上舞台的探索
随着新冠疫情的蔓延，虞剧社不得不在2020年取消对胡璇艺作品《一种旁观》的制作。此后，在社团换届及防疫封控的双重影响下，虞剧社进入了长达两年的“线上时期”。
在此期间，虽然剧场大门关闭，但社团并未停歇。我们积极开展各类线上活动：举办线上读剧会、在中国为新生举办见面会，并通过一系列云端聚会维系了女王大学华语社群的文艺活力。与此同时，虞剧社也尝试拓展新的艺术形式，推出了线上广播剧版的《暗恋桃花源·回音》。
“超时空合作”的我们组成了这一部“超时空作品”，在我看来是很浪漫的事情。很庆幸疫情下我们找到了新的方式的团结与协作。（2021年1月7日微信推文）
这部经典的作品以声音和简单插图的形式，成为了疫情期间虞剧社活动的亮点之一。
回归舞台：《赵氏孤儿》
2022年11月，随着线下剧场逐渐恢复，虞剧社在女王大学戏剧学院的 Rotunda Theatre 呈现了经典华语戏剧——姚远、田沁鑫的当代演绎话剧《赵氏孤儿》。该剧以原创音乐、实验性手法与经典故事交织，既延续了中国传统题材的厚重感，也融入了当代表演的探索精神。在金斯顿的舞台上，它想要探索一个重要的普世问题：“人生中的大部分困境不可避免，在混乱时代的洪流中我们看似毫无选择。可是在挣扎和痛苦的表象下，我们是否在逃避什么？”（2022年11月9日微信推文）
这是继疫情停摆后的首次正式舞台制作，标志着虞剧社的线下回归，就此重启继续谱写新的篇章。
社会议题的先锋探索：《一种旁观》
2023年2月，虞剧社重新启动并在金斯顿市中心的 Kingston Grand Theatre 小剧场（Baby Grand）上演了因疫情而被迫搁置的项目——2016年“全球泛华青年剧本创作竞赛”首奖作品、胡璇艺的《一种旁观》（The Bystander Game）。该作品以汶川大地震为背景，将叙事视角转向灾难面前无力的旁观者。作为一次全新的尝试，这是虞剧社首次将紧迫的社会议题搬上加拿大舞台，让剧场成为一个承载人性关怀与社会讨论的重要空间。
在2023年1月24日的微信推文中，我们写道：
“剧本涉及多种主题，包括泛滥的媒体，人类情感的重建，共情的无力，舆论的走失，真相的淹没和重拾。虞剧社希望通过这次制作，在后疫情时代，带来全新的《一种旁观》。”
在舞台形式上，制作采用环形舞台：观众席设于中央，舞台环绕四周，营造出“自由的、探索的、持续进行中的观演关系”。原创音乐以激昂的旋律强化剧本隐喻；即时投影突破传统舞台语言，在特设的暗室里，观众只能通过事件亲历者的“第一人称”视角进入故事，从而凸显个体经验的不可知性。字幕翻译亦首次采用互动式投影——随演员动作而变换位置，并通过三个投影屏幕同时呈现。观众席则被设计成“废墟”：散落的垫子、充气沙发和临时座椅，“无论是随心所欲地席地而坐，还是（鼓励观众）拿出闪光灯去驱散巨大的『沉默』……”（2023年1月30日微信推文）观演关系因此被彻底重塑。
制作同时邀请了已毕业的前社员回归参与。在其先锋性与前瞻性之下，《一种旁观》不仅再次突破了学生戏剧制作的边界，更进入女王大学戏剧学院课堂。演出上演三场后，余下五场即刻售罄，创造了又一次票房佳绩，被学院的教授誉为“The most ambitious show”。虞剧社独特的美学探索与华语戏剧的思想力量，在这一刻得到集中彰显。
首次集体创作｜跨文化跨世纪的对话：《玩偶之家》
2023年11月，虞剧社在女王大学戏剧学院 Rotunda Theatre 上演了首部集体创作的编作剧场作品《玩偶之家》（又名《玩偶之家在中国》）。该剧由黄冬宁（Tuning Huang）、张翼飞、刘纪元（Sherry Liu）、哲博和贾梦茹（Daisy Jia）共同完成，灵感汲取自易卜生的经典之作《玩偶之家》。
在创作说明中，团队“试图揭示在当代东亚文化中，女性所遭遇的困难处境与所做出的牺牲。我们从这个核心开始，再到剧本的讨论、音乐创作、肢体创作和之后所有的编排等，创作了这部剧。”（2023年11月23日微信推文）由此展开的故事创造了一个特别的真空空间，让欧洲婚姻之中的女性形象和现代中国婚姻下的女性在这个假定性之下的交谈。
整部作品跨越时代与空间，打破“第四堵墙”，试图探索女性主义经典在当代的意义。正如创作团队所言：“无论是从前易卜生笔下的娜拉，还是现在的张晴，历经时代变迁一百多年过去了，女性的困境并没有随着时代的洪流消逝。两个时代和文化背景下的女性所面临的困境看似不一样，但实则是相似的，有些只是变得更加隐性了。”（2023年11月30日微信推文）
这是虞剧社首次采用共同创作的编作方式回应社会问题与人性关切，也标志着虞剧社作为校园剧社在艺术题材上的一次重要跨越。
与爆裂锤子的合作：音乐剧《金沙：旅程》
2024年3月至4月，虞剧社与女王大学独立华语戏剧制作团体「爆裂锤子工作室」携手，共同制作了中文音乐剧《金沙：旅程》（JINSHA: The Journey）。该剧改编自三宝导演的原创音乐剧《金沙》，以三星堆文明为背景，将观众带回古蜀时代，随着人物的脚步经历一段跌宕起伏的旅程。
作为校园戏剧，本次制作的规模前所未有：舞台场景宏大，参与人数众多，从表演、音乐到舞美均体现出专业水准。《金沙：旅程》成功地将一部华语音乐剧搬上 Isabel Bader Centre Studio Theatre 的舞台，连演八场，每一场都为观众带来震撼而难忘的体验。
形式的突破：默剧《窦娥冤：静默》
2025年1月，虞剧社在 Kingston Grand Theatre 的小剧场 Baby Grand Theatre 上演了默剧《窦娥冤：静默》（Snow in Midsummer: The Silence）。作品改编自关汉卿的元杂剧《窦娥冤》，讲述了一位年轻女子因冤屈而被处死，直至以生命抗争，昭雪真相的故事。
与传统表演不同，《静默》极具实验性，“融入了大量影子表演元素，用光影的交织与肢体的表达，取代语言叙事——通过全新的艺术形式呈现这一千古冤案。”（微信推文，2024年11月21日）光与影的辩证关系在舞台上象征着“静默”与“呐喊”的对立与交织，回应了社会与个人之间复杂的张力。通过现代化改编，作品重现了封建伦理对个体生命的桎梏与腐蚀。在表现窦娥这一角色时，制作采用“一角多演”的设计：以“黑窦娥”与“白窦娥”并置，象征其“现实处境”与“内心愿望”，从而在视觉层面强化了人物的多面和矛盾。
这一制作再次突破了虞剧社的艺术边界，主动舍弃语言这一核心元素，探索超越语言的普世价值。这样的艺术选择不仅深化了作品的象征意义，也让非中文使用者能够更直接地参与进虞剧社表演之中。这也是虞剧社第一次邀请非中文使用者的演员。
现在
2025年上半年，女王大学现当代华语戏剧社——虞剧社，走到了一个阶段性的终点。由于缺少新一届的领导团队，以及校方对独立戏剧社团支持的逐渐减少，剧社最后一届管理层确认在下一学年将不再于 AMS（Alma Mater Society，女王大学学生会）注册。
2025年5月16日，在多伦多市中心的一间公寓里，几位曾经的剧社成员相聚，为女王大学虞剧社送别。但故事似乎并未终结。虞剧社以各种形式在许多人的青春中留下了不可磨灭的印记。回首望，我们见证了很多人走出虞剧社进入社会——不乏我们的伙伴选择进入职业剧场，将戏剧作为终身事业。虞剧社也从最初一个仅靠150加元赞助费支撑的小社团，到影响力扩展至多伦多、渥太华，乃至整个北美的校园华语戏剧社团——我们的虞剧社已经逐渐成长为一个可靠、富有执行力，并能真实回馈社群的重要品牌。
虞剧社的使命，也在不断演变。从最初为中国留学生创造剧场实践机会、在加拿大分享华语戏剧文化的单纯愿望，发展为一种更宏大的追求：以跨文化跨语言戏剧的形式讲述植根于华语世界的故事——不仅关乎语言，更关乎我们生活中真实的体验。我们相信，这样的旅程远未结束——这个世界仍然需要我们。
正因如此，女王大学虞剧社的首任社长、创始人之一 Nick Wang，与剧社 2022–2024 届社长 Daisy Jia，决定继往开来：以“多伦多虞剧社”的名义，将这一校园社团发展为公益性的职业戏剧公司。那份未竟的使命，将以同一个名字，在更大的舞台上继续书写。
多伦多虞剧社的第一个职业演出季，敬请期待。
我们的故事，才正要开始。
In the fall of 2018, we founded Yu Theatre Society at Queen’s University in Kingston, the predecessor of Yu Theatre Toronto. As the first contemporary Chinese-speaking theatre society, our ideals and mandates have been to use plays created in Chinese—or with Chinese as the primary language of creation—as a medium to share our worldview on this land and to convey our unique passion for the stage.
The name “Yu Theatre” is drawn from the historical tale Farewell My Concubine, in which Consort Yu was the beloved of Xiang Yu, the King of Western Chu. This story has long been an enduring theme in Chinese literature and art. The Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang’s work of the same name became a classic, while director Chen Kaige and actor Leslie Cheung brought this imagery to the global screen through the award-winning film Farewell My Concubine. The character “Yu” not only carries distinctive aesthetic symbolism, but also, in its original meaning, conveys connotations of longing and sorrow. This union of beauty and thought has been the very essence of what Yu Theatre has pursued from the beginning.
Premiere: Rhinoceros in Love
In March 2019, Yu Theatre Society presented its very first production—Liao Yimei’s Rhinoceros in Love. After five months of rehearsals and preparations, the play ran for five sold-out performances at the Isabel Bader Centre Studio Theatre. As the first non-English language play ever staged at Queen’s University, the production featured projected English surtitles, allowing audiences to transcend linguistic barriers. The show not only went popular on campus but also attracted wide attention from local Kingston media, including Kingston Global News, Queen’s Journal, and Queen’s Alumni Review, and even appeared on the homepage of Queen’s University’s official website.
In a WeChat article published on July 1, 2019, we wrote:
“This is where we began: from an idea unwilling to settle for mediocrity, to a group of colleagues unafraid of challenges, to performances that astonished audiences again and again. On stage, we never wished to simply be answerers—we wanted to be the ones who asked the questions.”
This achievement was not only a theatrical success but also an exploration of cross-cultural communication. Through translation and surtitles, we invited speakers of two languages into the same theatrical space for the first time—whether as audiences or as members of the creative team. The company brought together students from diverse backgrounds: drama majors, international students, second-generation Chinese immigrants, and even local English speakers. This bold experiment soon found its way into the classroom, becoming a case study in the Department of Drama. Members who once struggled to find opportunities amid linguistic and cultural barriers discovered their own stage through Yu Theatre.
The Start of Original Works: Yu Junior Double Bill
In November of the same year, Yu Theatre Society launched its first original program, Yu Junior (Double Bill), featuring two new works: Midnight Rendezvous by Shirley Huang and Molten by Billy Guo and Jessica Lou, adapted from Zhu Xining’s novella.
Midnight Rendezvous told the story of international students navigating love upon their arrival in a new country—sweetness and bitterness intertwined in a youthful narrative, portraying both conflict and reconciliation between Chinese and Western values on love.
Molten, adapted from Zhu Xining’s work of the same title, depicted the brutal feud between two families in old China over the rights to transport government salt, exposing the distortion of humanity under the weight of profit and feudal values.
Both plays were performed in Mandarin with English surtitles. With this, Yu Theatre not only gained experience in translating and presenting existing classics but also began to explore its own style and original expression.
Reimagining a Classic: Thunderstorm: Festival
In January 2020, Yu Theatre re-staged Cao Yu’s masterpiece Thunderstorm in an adapted version titled Thunderstorm: Festival, presented during Lunar New Year at the Baby Grand, Kingston Grand Theatre.
This adaptation emphasized the concept of “festival.” As Freedom Wei wrote in a WeChat post on November 10, 2019:
“‘Festival’ is both past and future. It is one of the few tender memories of the past, as well as the hope and anticipation for the future. Amid endless suffering and toil, everyone dreams that when the ‘festival’ comes, everything will be better. Here, we give the characters the power of imagination—each of them envisions their own ‘festival,’ resisting the pain, torment, and absurdity of reality.”
Artistically, the production experimented with original music for the first time, blending traditional and Western instruments—pipa alongside violin. Thunderstorm: Festival preserved the core themes of Cao Yu’s play, recounting the tragedy of a bourgeois family in the 1920s trapped under feudal shackles. With the innovative use of dual subtitle screens, the production sought to create resonance across time and space.
A Turning Point During the Pandemic: The Online Stage
With the outbreak of COVID-19, Yu Theatre had to cancel its planned production of Hu Xuanyi’s The Bystander Game in 2020. Amid leadership transitions and lockdown restrictions, the company entered a two-year “online stage.”
Though theatres were closed, activities did not stop. We organized online play readings, hosted welcome events for new students in China, and maintained the cultural vitality of Queen’s Chinese-speaking community through virtual gatherings. During this period, Yu Theatre experimented with new artistic forms, launching an audio drama version of Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land: Echoes.
“We created this ‘cross-temporal work’ as a group of ‘cross-temporal collaborators.’ In my eyes, it was a deeply romantic act. I am grateful that even in the pandemic we found new ways to unite and create together.” (WeChat, January 7, 2021)
Presented through sound and simple illustrations, the production became a highlight of Yu Theatre’s pandemic-era programming.
Return to the Stage: The Orphan of Zhao
In November 2022, as live theatre gradually reopened, Yu Theatre staged The Orphan of Zhao—a contemporary interpretation by Yao Yuan and Tian Qinxin—at the Rotunda Theatre, Queen’s University. Combining original music, experimental methods, and a classical Chinese story, the production carried both the weight of tradition and the spirit of contemporary exploration.
As written in a WeChat post on November 9, 2022:
“Most of life’s hardships are unavoidable. In the torrents of a chaotic age, it may seem we have no choice. But beneath the surface of struggle and pain, what exactly are we avoiding?”
This was Yu Theatre’s first in-person production since the pandemic pause, marking its return to the stage and a renewed chapter of creation.
A Pioneer in Social Issues: The Bystander Game
In February 2023, Yu Theatre revived the project halted by the pandemic—Hu Xuanyi’s The Bystander Game, winner of the 2016 Global Chinese Youth Playwriting Contest—staging it at the Baby Grand, Kingston Grand Theatre. Set against the backdrop of the Wenchuan earthquake, the play turned its gaze to powerless bystanders in the face of disaster. For the first time, Yu Theatre brought urgent social issues onto the Canadian stage, making theatre a space for both human compassion and social dialogue.
A WeChat post on January 24, 2023, noted:
“The script deals with many themes: the flood of media, the reconstruction of human emotions, the powerlessness of empathy, the erosion of public discourse, and the burial and recovery of truth. With this production, Yu Theatre hopes to present a new Bystander Game for the post-pandemic era.”
Staged in the round, with the audience at the center and the stage surrounding them, the production created a “free, exploratory, and ongoing” relationship between audience and performance. Original music heightened the play’s metaphors; live projections broke traditional stage boundaries, presenting first-person perspectives of survivors within a darkened chamber. Subtitles, projected interactively across three screens, shifted with actors’ movements. The auditorium was designed as a “ruin,” filled with scattered mats, inflatable sofas, and makeshift seats, encouraging audiences to sit freely—or even use phone flashlights to pierce the overwhelming silence.
Former members returned to join the production. Bold in form and vision, The Bystander Game not only pushed the boundaries of student theatre but also became part of the Drama Department's academic curriculum. After three performances, the remaining five shows immediately sold out, earning acclaim from faculty as “the most ambitious show.”
First Collective Creation: A Doll’s House in China
In November 2023, Yu Theatre staged its first devised theatre project, A Doll’s House in China, at the Rotunda Theatre. Co-created by Tuning Huang, Yifei Zhang, Sherry Liu, Zhebo, and Daisy Jia, the work drew inspiration from Henrik Ibsen’s classic A Doll’s House.
The creative statement read:
“We seek to reveal the difficult situations and sacrifices faced by women in contemporary East Asian culture. From this starting point, through script discussions, musical creation, physical work, and staging, we created this play.” (WeChat, November 23, 2023)
The story imagined a vacuum space where women from European marriages and those from modern Chinese marriages could meet and converse. Spanning eras and geographies, the play broke the fourth wall, exploring the meaning of feminist classics today.
As the team reflected:
“Whether Ibsen’s Nora or today’s Zhang Qing, more than a century has passed, yet women’s struggles have not vanished with the tides of history. The challenges faced across cultures may appear different, but in essence they are the same—some simply hidden more subtly.” (WeChat, November 30, 2023)
This marked Yu Theatre’s first collective creation, responding to social issues and human concerns, and represented a major artistic leap for the society.
Collaboration with Hammer Theatre Studio: JINSHA: The Journey
From March to April 2024, Yu Theatre collaborated with Crack Hammer Theatre Studio, an independent Chinese-speaking theatre group at Queen’s University, to present the Mandarin musical JINSHA: The Journey. Adapted from San Bao’s original musical Jiansha, the work drew on the ancient Shu civilization of Sanxingdui, leading audiences through an epic journey of myths and emotions.
As a campus production, it was unprecedented in scale—grand staging, large cast, and professional-level design across acting, music, and scenography. Staged at Isabel Bader Centre Studio Theatre for eight performances, each show left audiences profoundly moved.
A Breakthrough in Form: Snow in Midsummer: The Silence
In January 2025, Yu Theatre staged a silent theatre adaptation of Guan Hanqing’s Yuan drama Snow in Midsummer at the Baby Grand Theatre. Titled Snow in Midsummer: The Silence, the work restaged the story of Dou E, a young woman wrongfully executed, whose resistance and sacrifice brought justice to light.
Unlike traditional performances, The Silence was highly experimental, “infusing extensive elements of shadow play, using light and movement to replace spoken narrative, presenting this timeless injustice through an entirely new artistic form.” (WeChat, November 21, 2024)
Light and shadow symbolized the tension between silence and outcry, between society and the individual. In representing Dou E, the production used “dual casting”—a “Black Dou E” and a “White Dou E,” embodying her external reality and inner desires, visually amplifying the character’s contradictions.
This production pushed Yu Theatre’s artistic boundaries once again, deliberately abandoning language as the central medium to explore universal values beyond words. It also invited non-Chinese-speaking actors for the first time, making Yu Theatre’s work more accessible across cultures.
The Present
In the first half of 2025, Yu Theatre Society at Queen’s University reached a turning point. Due to the lack of a new leadership team and reduced institutional support for independent theatre groups, the final executive team confirmed that the society would no longer be registered with the AMS (Alma Mater Society) in the upcoming academic year.
On May 16, 2025, in a downtown Toronto apartment, several former members gathered to bid farewell to Queen’s Yu Theatre Society. Yet the story did not end there.
Over the years, Yu Theatre has left indelible marks on countless youths. Many alumni went on to professional theatre, making the art their lifelong pursuit. From its humble beginnings with just $150 in sponsorship to becoming a Chinese-speaking theatre society with influence reaching Toronto, Ottawa, and across North America, Yu Theatre has grown into a reliable, effective, and community-rooted brand.
The mission of Yu Theatre also evolved. From its original intention of offering theatre opportunities for Chinese international students and sharing Chinese theatre culture in Canada, it expanded into a greater vision: telling stories rooted in Chinese experiences through cross-cultural and multilingual theatre. This journey is far from over—the world still needs us.
For this reason, Yu Theatre's co-founder and its first club president, Nick Wang and former president (2022–2024), Daisy Jia, decided to carry the legacy forward: to transform Yu Theatre into a not-for-profit professional theatre company under the name Yu Theatre Toronto. The unfinished mission will continue, under the same name, on a larger stage.
Stay tuned for the first professional season of Yu Theatre Toronto.
Our story is only just beginning.
Last Updated: 2025.8.26