SNOW IN MIDSUMMER:
THE SILENCE
(2025)
Photo by Murphy Liu
Photo by Viven Ma
Photo by Viven Ma
Photo by Viven Ma
Photo by Murphy Liu
Photo by Viven Ma
Photo by Viven Ma
Photo by Viven Ma
Description
What if…we tell the whole story, in complete silence?
Yu Theatre Society proudly presents its Spring 2025 production - an experimental mime, Snow in Midsummer: The Silence. Original story by Guan Hanqing; Mime adaptation by Nathan Zhe, Lizhe Xu; Co-Produced by Viven Ma, Nathan Zhe and Directed by Nathan Zhe.
Adapted from The Injustice of Dou E or Snow in Midsummer by Guan Hanqing, a famous playwright in the Yuan Dynasty of China. Snow in Midsummer: The Silence reconstructs this classic tragic story in the form of pantomime superimposed with shadow performance. The soul of Dou E, who died unjustly, tells her biological father Dou Tianzhang how she was forced to confess under the silence of her cowardly mother-in-law, the frame-up of the bully Zhang Lu'er, and the beating of the corrupt official Tao Wu, and was forced to become a murderer and beheaded in public.
Yu Theatre Society’s Snow in Midsummer: The Silence, invites you on an evocative journey of light, shadow, and silence. Reflecting the miserable situation of the lower-class individuals who are at the mercy of others and have no place to complain; Unveiling the oppressive ideals of chastity and the rigid ethics rooted in feudal education during China’s Yuan Dynasty—a force as corrosive as poison, eroding the lives of women and the underprivileged alike.
Snow in Midsummer: The Silence will run from January 13 to January 18 at Baby Grand Theatre, Kingston Grand Theatre. With a Masked-Encouraged Performance on January 16 and a Relaxed Etiquette Performance on January 18 by 2:00pm. The total running time of Snow in Midsummer: The Silence is approximately 1 hour with no intermission.
Snow in Midsummer: The Silence is sponsored by GET International Curriculum and Bubble Tea and Dumpling Delights
Cast
Dou E (White): Hefei Zhang
Dou E's Soul (Black): Tara Martin
Granny Cai: Ziou Zheng
Zhang Luer: Earl Zhang
Zhang's Father: Shuran Cui
Sai Lu Yi: Allen Dong
Dou Tianzhang: Qingsong Xu
Tao Wu: Fergus Yi
Crew
Co-Producer: Viven Ma, Nathan Zhe
Director & Playwright: Nathan Zhe
Assistant Director: Tracy Chan
Production Manager: Janice Guo
Assistant Production Manager: Kyoko Yang
Technical Director: Nathan Zhe
Co-Technical Director: Qingsong Xu
Stage Manager: Shenyi Lu
Head of Marketing: Isabella Li
Choreographer: Rebecca Niu
Movement Director: Lizhe Xu
Set Designer: Weichen Kong
Props Designer: Helena Zhao
Lighting Designer: Jerall Li
Costume Designer: Vera Zhu, Minghan Zhang
Mask Designer: Sophie Liang
Sound & Live Sound Designer: Nathan Zhe
Front of House Designer: Audrey Chen
Accessibility Coordinator: Catriona Delaney
Dramaturg: Lizhe Xu
Assistant Stage Manager: Rita Xie, Jiayi Zhao, Elaine He, Jialin Luo
Head of Set & Props: Murphy Liu
Set & Props Crew: Yiliang Wang, Samuel Sin, Iulia Rus
Head of Wardrobe: Aleeza Balbas
Costume Crew: Tracy Chan, Sophie Liang
FOH Crew: Nicole Wu, Catriona Delaney
Tech Crew: Jeffery Wu, Edward Wei, Jialin Luo
Marketing Assistant: Tracy Chan, Amber Yan
Graphic Designer: Minghan Zhang
Photographer: Xixi Zhou, Amber Yan
Videographer: Elaine He
Operator: Edward Wei, Jeffery Wu, Nathan Zhe
Special Thanks
Alice Chang
Daisy Mengru Jia
Brian Frommer
Tuning Huang
Marianna Thomlison
Mark Hunt
Grace Delamere
Adri Wu
Kedu Zhou
Julia Stroud
Nick Fangzheng Wang
Dianne Zemba
Keith MacVicar
Anne Marie Mortensen
Alex Boxall
Dave Vanderlip
Rebecca Brown
Eric Jiang
Michael Xu
Guanqiao Wang
Haley Sarfeld
Kelsey Jacobson
Edward Yu
Cam Miller
Tim Fort
Kelly O’ Dette
Ryan Randall
Ella Wang
Haofan Wang
DAN School of Drama and Music
Queen’s Film & Media
CCAKD
Tourism Kingston
Dan School Student Council
Kingston Theatre Alliance
Dan Studio Series
Dan School Majors
Queen’s Musical Theatre
Of The Sea Productions
Queen’s Theatre Troupe
Blue Canoe Productions
AMS Media Center
Queen’s Journal
External Links:
