The Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) is often dubbed "the father of modern drama" for being one of the first to place ordinary people squarely center stage. Forty-four-year-old Yoji Sakate, founder of the Rinkogun theater company, has now created not just an homage to this Scandinavian icon, but a modern Japanese reworking of Ibsen's 114-year-old drama "An Enemy of the People," which is playing at the Haiyu-za theater in Roppongi till June 4.

Sakate -- the current president of the National Playwrights' Association -- has changed Ibsen's male hero, Dr. Stockman, into a heroine, Tomoko Sudo (Mizuki Oura). Like Stockman, Sudo discovers that when she tries to report the outbreak of a deadly bacteria in her town's water, no one -- not her sister the mayor (Mari Nakayama), the editor of the local paper (Atsuko Eguchi) nor any other important citizens want the story to get out. Sakate adds references to the Ashio-Dozan copper-mine pollution scandal in 1890s and the simmering BSE beef crisis, to show how big money all too often has the last word in matters of social welfare. After a well-received debut last week, Sakate spoke to The Japan Times, explaining why he decided to present his version of this play now.

Why did you choose to rework this play and stage it at this time?