Theater festival stages a comeback

"To see the works live is different from watching on TV," Huang says. "Drama is meant for theater. For the festival, the young artists adapted and extended their works, and we were truly awestruck seeing them live.

"The recordings can show us the moving aspects of the works, but they cannot match the awe of seeing the actors perform in front of you. What's important is that the show can introduce more people to theater."

Apart from the new works, the section also featured Ago, a six-hour play written and directed by Lai, and starring celebrity performers Hao Lei and Zhang Jie.

Meng Jinghui, co-founder and artistic director of the festival, says that the plays can be categorized into three types: works by young directors that offer a sense of vitality; professional and classic works; and the "bizarre" ones that emphasize innovation. His own adaptation of the literary classic Le Rouge et le Noir was the opening play of this year's festival.