BOSTON (Dec. 17, 2025) – After its sold-out premiere at the Yale Crescent Theater in April 2025, Vermilion Theater is set to bring the sweeping emotional and cross-cultural power of Juliet & Jul-Yingtai to the Strand Theatre (543 Columbia Rd, Dorchester, MA 02125) from January 15 to 17, 2026, with performances scheduled for Thursday, January 15, from 7:30 to 9 p.m.; Friday, January 16, from 7:30 to 9 p.m.; and Saturday, January 17, at 2 to 3:30 p.m. and 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Originally founded at Yale University and with the support of its sister group, Yale Vermilion, Vermilion Theater is a young AAPI theater group based in Boston, as well as a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. As the first theater group dedicated to producing plays performed in both Mandarin and English, Vermilion Theater strives to bridge the language gap in the performing arts and to bring Chinese culture into mainstream theater. Our upcoming production Juliet & Jul-Yingtai is supported by the City of Boston’s Strand Theatre Grant program. This support makes it possible for us to offer free tickets to the public and increases the accessibility of community-based and culturally rooted theater for audiences throughout Greater Boston.

Led by Chinese and Chinese American artists, Juliet & Jul-Yingtai is a Mandarin and English bilingual production that brings Shakespearean tradition into conversation with Chinese folklore. Incorporating traditional elements such as nuó dance, the piece embraces cultural diversity and creates a vivid cross-cultural dialogue. Through a contemporary lens shaped by memory, fate, and mirrored selves, it reimagines the journeys of two iconic heroines. Co-directed by Yifei Pei and Vermilion Theater Co-founder and Artistic Director Wisteria Deng, and created by an all-women cast and creative team, the production centers women’s voices and challenges inherited ideas of femininity, love, and agency across Western and Chinese literary traditions.

“Our production blurs the boundary between love and death, remembrance and reincarnation,” said co-director Wisteria Deng. “Set in a dreamlike purgatory where every soul must choose between moving on or reliving the same fate, two star-crossed women—Juliet and Jul-Yingtai—defy the limits of memory, language, and time.”

Consistent with Vermilion Theater’s innovative tradition, Juliet & Jul-Yingtai is performed in Mandarin and English with English subtitles, ensuring an inclusive experience for all audience members. Tickets are free to the public. For tickets and additional information, contact [email protected] or visit here.