The eighth Hangzhou International Theater Festival, commencing on Sept. 11, will have a special unit for immersive theater.

Immersive theatre differentiates itself from the traditional theater by removing the stage and immersing audiences within the performance itself. Often, this is accomplished by using a specific location, allowing audiences to converse with the actors and interact with their surroundings, thereby breaking the fourth wall.

The unit will be a new feature of this year's festival, said Meng Jinghui, the festival's artistic director and a renowned theatre director. Among these theaters, Meng recommended The Golden Beetle, which will be staged as the opening performance at the event.

Directed by Zhang Ziqi and Liao Shuyi, the opening theater will be performed at the Liangzhu Culture and Art Center. The chronological order will be broken, the six-dimensional space of drama will be opened, and an ancient story will be decoded and reconstructed in the modern avant-garde language. The theater will be staged from Sept.11 to 13.