That is Shun-kin's great theatrical strength, and the strength of all great theatre. Although the play is very articulate verbally (despite the austere surtitles), although one can easily spell out in words some of one's responses and thoughts, and although one can mention in common nouns some of the play's preoccupations, there is a very great deal more that cannot be, and is not meant to be, articulated.

The production is full of strange resonances reverberating at the edge of one's consciousness. It seduces the viewer into abandoning the everyday mind's nagging for clarity and certainty. That may be partly to do with unfamiliarity with Japanese culture. Perhaps novelty explains part of the play's enchantment. But audiences in Tokyo were enthralled, too, last year.

Shun-kin was created in close collaboration with Tokyo's Setagaya Public Theatre, which, by Japanese standards, is unusually avant-garde and outward looking. This is perhaps why it was able to collaborate with Complicite, whose theatrical tradition is not popular in Japan. Setagaya is a non-profit organisation funded by the local council. So Setagaya is state-subsidised theatre, as is Complicite, which is substantially funded by the Arts Council. This presents a challenge to all those who, like me, have tended to think that the arts should not be funded by the taxpayer.