The play, which premiered in June, is a time travel story about an internet novelist, Shu Tong, who seeks inspiration for her new novel about spies and meets a real spy during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).

It is Lai's 39th original work as playwright and director, and his fourth performed at the Wuzhen Theater Festival, and it features Ni Ni, the actress who made her name in the Flowers of War, directed by Zhang Yimou.

One of the most popular outdoor venues in Wuzhen is Water Theater, which can hold an audience of more than 2,000. Performances are viewed across water, with ancient buildings in the background, framed by the ruins of a broken bridge and the Bailian Pagoda in the distance.

Two plays will be staged there, The Trojan Women, directed by Theodoros Terzopoulos and Attis Theater, which the director founded in Greece and focuses on researching ancient Greek tragedy, and The Fairy Queen, directed and written by Michal Znaniecki from Poland and based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Both works will involve water screens and projections.