Kay Voges, director of the Austrian play "Endspiel" (Endgame), says that being able to stage the darkly humorous piece at the 10th Wuzhen Theater Festival is a big honor.

The picturesque, ancient town of Wuzhen which lies along the river banks in Tongxiang City in east China's Zhejiang Province has been transformed into a global theater hotspot during its annual theater festival which opened last week and will last until Sunday.

For 11 exhilarating days, theater lovers and performers from around the world gather for a grand celebration of the dramatic arts.

Voges says that "Endspiel", performed by the Volkstheater from Austria, is a chance for people to reflect on relationships.

"The play deals about a toxic relationship of two people. They live together and there's no ending and they're waiting for the end. But the end doesn't happen. It's a fight, a never-ending fight of these two guys. It's sad and it's very full of humor," Voges said.

"Theater should be a place that we reflect ourselves and maybe to give power to change ourselves. It's a big honor for us to represent the Austrian theater style here in China," he continued.

The stark and simple staging of the play is offset by dramatic lighting and a vibrant soundscape of footsteps, creaking doors and objects crashing to the ground. Voges says the stage represents a prison for the two characters "who live at the end of the world and there is no escape."

The director praised festival organizers for bringing together theatre companies from around China and the world, with 14 overseas companies performing, in a celebration of cultural ties that build friendships.

"It's really a wonderful idea of bringing artists together in the festival. I think as a theater maker, we want to show our work everywhere. Culture brings people together and it is wonderful if two countries come together and becoming friends through the culture," said Voges.