With his characters given samurai names and clad in kimono, whatever would the Bard make of this "Twelfth Night" by Japan's foremost Shakespeare dramatist, 69-year-old Yukio Ninagawa? This veteran theatrical explorer long vowed never to tackle kabuki, but is doing just that with "Twelfth Night" to packed houses at the Kabuki-za in Tokyo's Ginza. Here, in an interview with The Japan Times, Ninagawa casts light on his reasons for changing his mind, and how he feels about the result.

When the curtain rose, the audience saw themselves in the curved wall of mirrors you positioned across the whole width of the stage. It was a brilliant and unforgettable opening that seemed to send a direct message to the audience that the stage is a mirror of life. Was that your intention?

Yes, that was one of my goals, because when the usual kabuki curtain rises and the audience unexpectedly confront their own faces, then they realize this is not an ordinary kabuki with which they are familiar. Then, when the mirrors gradually start to become transparent, you see a big beautiful cherry tree in the background and you hear music being played on both Japanese and Western instruments and a boy soprano singing. All this creates a unique fusion. When the actors appear on the hanamichi [elevated runway] in the auditorium, to the audience members in certain areas it looks as if they are coming out from the back of the main stage due to the mirror reflection. So, the audiences start to confuse reality and drama.