曹禺原名万家宝,据说是祖母所起。另有小名“添甲”,寓意强中之强,前程似锦。因家庭影响,曹禺从小受到中国古典文学和史学的熏陶。由于生母早逝,他三岁便随继母出入戏园,看过谭鑫培、杨小楼等许多京剧艺术家的表演,很早便埋下了戏剧的艺术种子。在南开读中学时,曹禺扮演过余叙岩的《南天门》中的人物、易卜生的话剧《娜拉》中的女主人公,和南开新剧团另外四人一起被津门文艺界称为“南开五虎”。 Cao Yu formerly known as Wan Jiabao, is said to be played by grandmother. Another name nicknamed “Tim A”, meaning strong in the strong, bright future. Due to family influence, Cao Yu was influenced by Chinese classical literature and history. As a result of his premature death, his three-year-old succeeded his stepmother in entering and exiting the opera garden. He had seen the performance of many Beijing opera artists such as Tan Xinpei and Yang Xiaolou, and buried the art seeds of drama very early. In Nankai Middle School, Cao Yu played the character of Yu Nian-Ku’s “Nantianmen”. The heroine of Ibsen’s drama “Nora” and the other four of Nankai New Troupe were called “Nankai Five tigers. ”