How did you come to be in Japan?
My wife brought me. She was studying piano in London, and I fell in love with her when I
heard her playing a Beethoven sonata. We were married in London and then came out here.
What do you do?
I' an Assistant Professor at Ueno Gakuen University, teaching English Literature and
drama. I also write for English and Australian literary magazines about drama and
contemporary poetry, and direct and perform in stage productions here in Tokyo.
How did you get involved in Tokyo theater?
While I was at the Asahi Evening News many years ago, I got Alan Booth (author of
"The Roads to Sata") to write reviews of Japanese films. Being English, it took
us about a year before we became friends, but we then went out on a sixteen-hour drinking
session in Ginza and decided that most of Tokyo's performances in English were so rotten
that we'd start putting on some of our own.
What has been your greatest experience in Japan?
There have been so many, but I think seeing some wonderful Noh performances, especially by
Mori Shigeyoshi, the first waki (a type of actor) to be made a living national treasure,
who just came on stage and filled the whole space.
Was he a big man?
No, he had great stage presence.
What stands out as your best project here?
Well, directing and performing in Shakespeare's Edward III - the first ever
performance of the play in Japan - last November was a great challenge which I enjoyed
very much.
How has Japan changed in the last 25 years?
When I first came here there weren't many foreigners and I got stared at so much I got
quite paranoid about it. What was unpleasant about the whole period of rapid economic
growth and the bubble economy was the chauvinism that went with it. There were all these
books published about the Japanese which were totally nationalistic, saying Westerners are
logical whereas we Japanese are frightfully sensitive, have wonderful, tender feelings and
work so hard. So I spent a lot of time at the Asahi attacking this. The good thing about
the collapse of the bubble economy and the bubble thinking that went with it is that there
is now a sense of reality here.
How do you entertain yourself in Tokyo?
I sometimes go to a little Okinawan bar in Koenji. Sorry, I've forgotten its name.
Where would you like to be on New Year's Eve 1999?
Certainly not in Glasgow because I'm no longer young and hardy and capable of drinking
vast amounts of alcohol. I've come to prefer a quieter life. I used to get into quite a
few pub fights in my youth. But I don't do that sort of thing any more.
What would you take back to your home country from Japan?
A really good Noh mask. They're extraordinarily beautiful.
What's your most prized possession?
A 1646 edition of Milton's poems. And my records, not CDs, of George Enescu playing Bach
sonatas. He was Menuhin's violin teacher-Enescu, not Bach.
Choose six words to describe yourself.
Moderately honest. Moderately trustworthy. Moderately talented.
You're stuck on the Yamanote line for the rest of your life. You're allowed to
take one musical instrument, one kitchen appliance and a lifetime's supply of a particular
cheese. What would they be?
A grand piano, a bottle opener with a can attachment and Stilton or Roquefort, or some
nice smelling goat cheese. No, Stilton.
Occupation:
LIFE IN JAPAN: