David Leveaux, the English director of "The Blue Room," has been working regularly in Japan since 1993. In these highlights from a lengthy discussion last week, TPT's artistic director speaks about his work here, Japanese audiences . . . and the message of "The Blue Room."

Have you found any unexpected things in Japanese theater while you have been working here?

Many things. One thing that happened, unplanned, was that a great deal of our work has been about women. It almost naturally emerged, that politics or sexuality became powerful forms of expression in a way I had not expected, because I didn't know how powerful those issues were in Japanese society.