Theatre Smith-Gilmour has announced the English-language world premiere of Pu Songling: Strange Tales. The adaptation of Songling’s stories of the supernatural and unusual emphasizes the darkly bizarre and tragic nature of the stories, and what they tell us about human nature.
The play will be produced by a Dora award-winning team, and shows take place at Crow’s Theatre from January 13 to February 1, 2026.
The original Chinese stories have been adapted by a team that includes Michele Smith, John Ng, Diana Tso, Steven Hao, Dean Gilmour, and Madelaine Hodges, with special thanks to Michael Man, Lindsay Wu, Rosie Simon, and Jeff Yung.
Pu Songling
“Pu Songling takes us somewhere else that you could say is horrifying, but it’s also exciting,” says John Ng, actor in Pu Songling: Strange Tales.
Pu Songling (蒲松齡, 1640 – 1715) was a writer who lived during the Qing Dynasty. He’s best known as the author of Liaozhai zhiyi, known in English as Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. In a time when realistic fiction was the fashion, Pu wrote the vast collection of some 431 tales of the supernatural and unusual. He often adapted idioms and themes from the Tang and Song dynasties.
While Pu spent his life largely as an unknown schoolteacher and tutor, he received an Imperial honour for his achievement in literature at the age of 71. His work was published in 1740, and his fame began to grow a half century after his death. Today he’s recognized for reviving the art of classical short fiction in China.
The English adaptation weaves together a series of his stories as supernatural vignettes, many drawn from Chinese folklore. The strange blends with tragic and even comedic moments, and feature characters that include demons and reincarnated souls. Each story reveals something about human nature, from our deepest fears to unexpected acts of courage.
“At the heart of our work is shared humanity; it’s great to see an audience from all walks of life, and everyone is equally compelled by these stories,” says Dean Gilmour, co-founder of Theatre Smith-Gilmour.
The Production
Dora-winning Michelle Smith Gilmour directs, with a creative team that includes Noah Feaver (Lighting Designer), Ting-Huan Christine Urquhart (Set & Costume Designer), and Andrew Dollar (Stage Manager).
“The stories invite the audience to dream and to imagine, and that’s what audiences love to do,” says Michele Smith, co-founder of Theatre Smith-Gilmour.
Cast
Dean Gilmour
Creator, director, performer, playwright, and sound designer Dean Gilmour is co-Artistic Director at Theatre Smith-Gilmour. He’s a graduate of the University of Windsor, where he earned an Honours BFA in Dramatic Arts. After graduating, he went to Paris, France, to study at the School of Jacques Lecoq (incidentally, where he met Michele Smith, and together with her, later co-founded Theatre Smith-Gilmour in 1980). Since its founding, Dean has created, directed, and performed in 42 Theatre Smith-Gilmour productions. He’s performed his own works across Canada, and internationally in 11 countries. He’s won several Dora Awards, including two for best director, two for best actor, two for best production, and two for best new play.
John Ng 伍健琪
A native of Hong Kong, John Ng has an extensive resume as an actor on stage, as well as in TV and film. He graduated from the Honours Programme in Directing at the University of Ottawa. His theatrical credits include Kuroko (Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre), Antigone (Young People’s Theatre), The Full Light Of Day (Electric Theatre Company), Nine Dragons (Vertigo/Gateway/Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre), and on TV, Kim’s Convenience, The Swan, and the mini series Rising Suns. He has also appeared in the films Dancing Through The Shadow, and Claws of the Red Dragon.
Diana Tso 曹楓
Chinese-Canadian theatre artist, playwright, storyteller, and Dora Award-winning actor Diana Tso is a graduate of the University of Toronto in English Literature, and of Ecole Internationale de Théâtre de Jacques Lecoq in France. Along with her work with other companies, including Modern Times Stage Company’s The Cherry Orchard, Theatre Smith-Gilmour’s Les Misérables and at the 2017 Stratford Festival in Bakkhai and The Komagata Maru Incident, Diana is the artistic director of Red Snow Collective, a company whose productions focus on the empowerment of women. Her play Carried by the River, revolving around a Canadian woman who returns to China after her mother’s death to explore adoption, myth, and China’s one-child policy, premiered in March 2025 at Tarragon Theatre.
Steven Hao 郝邦宇
Toronto-based director, actor, and writer Steven Hao was born and grew up in China. His work is innovative and boundary breaking, and influenced by his cultural heritage. His stage credits include Puck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Canadian Stage); Cockroach, Cockroach (Tarragon Theatre); Bartender/Zeus, Trojan Girls & The Outhouse of Atreus (OtM/Factory Theatre), and as a director, Ordinary Days (Shifting Ground Collective), Assistant Director, Heroes of The Fourth Turning (The Howland Company/Crow’s Theatre), Assistant Director, The Chinese Lady (Crow’s Theatre/Studio 180 Theatre/fu-GEN Theatre), Director, A Perfect Bowl of Pho (Toronto Fringe Festival/Kick & Push Festival).
Madelaine Hodges 賀
Award-winning Chinese-Canadian queer artist Madelaine Hodges is from Scarborough. She’s a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University. As an actor, she’s known for The Boys (2019), Cruel Intentions (2024) and Börje (2023) on TV, and on stage her recent credits include Iris (Says Goodbye)(2025) as Iris, Woking Phoenix (2024) as Iris / Snow, and The Two Noble Kinsmen (2024) as Queen / Emilia’s Woman / Madeline. She is also a choreographer and dance captain, and choreographed Killing Time: A Game Show Musical (2023).
Shows
Performances take place from January 13, 2026 to February 1, 2026 at Crows Theatre.
- Find tickets and show details [HERE].
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