In July 2009, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre's strategic relaunch with an artistic director in place of the suits who formerly oversaw its bookings was somewhat muted.
That was because the sets for productions of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Merchant of Venice" by England's renowned Propeller Theatre Company — the maiden offerings of TMET's new creative supremo, then 53-year-old Hideki Noda — had somehow ended up in Hong Kong via China instead of Tokyo.
Undeterred, however, the actor/playwright/director told TMET's staff to hastily make replacements so the shows could go on — declaring at a press conference: "I take this bad luck as a rare chance to show what is the essential element and the real power of theater — which is the actors."