During the rehearsals Peter became increasingly unhappy with the changes being made by the director. He decided to leave the show before it started its Broadway run, where it flopped. It wasn't until we started rehearsals that I had to go and learn how to fight with Japanese swords, which was great. I knocked one poor fellow out when I got a little too enthusiastic and laid him out accidentally. I got taken out and the director said 'I want you to do me a favour.
Nobody wants to be lectured, they want to be entertained.
There was a lecture on why they don't have a word for love - that went on for five minutes. I started turning to the writers and producers and causing a nuisance of myself, saying 'This show is not working, and you are wasting six million dollars - you'd better step in and do something'. And they didn't, although they agreed with me. James Clavell wouldn't allow any of his book to be cut from the show. The first show we did ran for five and a half hours, and there weren't many people left by the end of it.