Each year, the Wuzhen Theatre Festival brings audiences dozens of performances directed by masters of theater and emerging artists, whose works are more likely to reflect social concerns and people's inner struggles. This year, China's emerging theater director Ding Yiteng staged his new play "Frankenstein: Paradise Lost in Darkness" at the festival.

The show tells the tragic story of Wei Duo, who was sexually assaulted by her stepfather. With her boyfriend's support, she regains hope, but is beaten down again by her lover's death. Afterwards, she begins to fantasize that her boyfriend has come back to life, and falls into a bizarre dream where a creature wants to rescue her but she chooses to commit suicide.

"An important reason I wanted to do the show is that one of my friends also suffered the same experience. And she was deeply touched and broke into tears when I told her my plan. She said she felt what happened to her has been taken seriously," Ding told CGTN.

He believes theater has a social responsibility. "Through my work, I hope to raise people's awareness about something they rarely noticed before. And for these victims, I want to tell them that they are no longer alone. Today we have a lot of people to stand with them and try to help them."

The young director, who this year staged his plays at the festival for the second time, said he has always benefited from the charm of theater. 

"For me, directing a play is a chance to talk to myself and know myself. I think this is the charm of theater. I can make a lot of assumptions in my show, and I can ignore the stereotypes in my mind, then I can express my feelings and ideas more freely," Ding added.

Ding's show is one of the 28 Special Invited Plays at this year's festival.