As a law unto himself, Dwayne Lawler is well named. Tense -- intense is the better word -- and charismatic, he is driven by powerful forces to make his mark on Japan, his native Australia and the world at large. At the same time he is incredibly nervous, and so polite and desperate to please that I want to take him by the hand and say, "There, there." Except I'm not sure about the black nail varnish.

With black hair, blue eyes, black clothing and talons to match ("I was always the black sheep of the family"), Dwayne aspires to the Gothic. He is also a keen MTV fan, which brings us to his latest production of what he -- as a superstitious thespian -- refers to as "the Scottish play." By this he means Shakespeare's "Macbeth," a wicked brew of pagan skulduggery, interclan rivalry and back-stabbing political treachery set in a Scotland that more resembles Japan, and to be staged for just one night this Wednesday starting at 7 p.m. at the New National Theater in central Tokyo.

"I just rang up and asked if I could book it for a single performance, and they said yes," Dwayne says. "This is what I mean by saying getting things done in Japan is more difficult in some ways but a lot easier in others. "