Taking place between Nov 24 and Dec 3 in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, the Contemporary Theater Biennale, which was launched in 2016, will include 13 international productions and 29 performances by domestic talent.

British director Ben Duke's Juliet & Romeo, a thought-provoking take on Shakespeare's classic love story, will open the biennale. HA-M-LET, a pioneering adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, created and performed by Peter Mark, is also on the agenda. The multilingual, multimedia performance will be staged within a projection cube.

Organized by the publicity department of Shenzhen's Futian district and its public culture and sports development center, this year's artistic director will be renowned director Meng Jinghui.

Meng's The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, which is based on the 1951 Carson McCullers novel of the same name, is also on the schedule.

In addition to theatrical productions, the event will include two forums and four theater workshops.