賴聲川的作品雖然非常多樣，但是當中在形式上可以直接被指認出比較屬於「東方的」，甚至是「日本的」表現形式的舞台似乎並不存在。但是，在賴聲川比較傾向「現代的」，或者以「寫實的」作為基調的作品當中，我們都可以嗅出某種在西方的舞台當中所看不到的，屬於東方式的哲學觀照與世界觀。賴聲川對於日本戲劇的理解，最早可以追溯自他於1983年所完成的美國加州大學柏克萊分校的博士論文Oriental Crosscurrrents in Modern Western Theatre。在這一本以英文寫成、長達五百頁的學術理論著作當中最值得注意的是，賴聲川花了相當的篇幅在探討日本能劇上。尤其是論文的第四章、第五章以及第六章。在這三個章節當中，賴聲川利用與西方戲劇的比較，探討「夢幻能」的戲劇結構、表演方法、舞台特徵以及美學本質，並在與東西方戲劇的比較當中提出許多獨特的分析觀點。毫無疑問地，賴聲川對於日本能劇有相當透徹的研究，並且，對於日本能劇的理解想必對於他日後的創作活動必然產生相當的影響。因此本論文將藉由對於《如夢之夢》敘述結構與空間要素的分析，嘗試舉證出《如夢之夢》與日本能劇之間的「親近性」。

Stanley Sheng-Chuan Lai's theatre works are full of diversities; however, it's hard for us to point out anyone among them is belonging to the Orient, and more difficult to Japan. But, in these of his works which tend to be modern ones or are based on realism, we can see something, which cannot be seen in western stage, belonging to eastern philosophy and universal points of view. His understanding of Japan Drama can be traced to his dissertation for Ph.D., Oriental Crosscurrrents in Modern Western Theatre, in UC Berkeley in America, in 1983. What counts a lot in this 500-page academic paper is that Stanley discourses much on Japan Noh Theatre, especially in the Chapter Four, Five and Six. In which, he discusses the drama structure, acting methods, stage symbols, and esthetic elements of Mugen Noh by comparing with the western drama. He also points out some unique analytic points of view in this comparing. No doubt, Stanley studies a lot on Japan Noh Theatre, which should affect his later creative theatre works. Therefore, this thesis tries to discuss the familiarity between his A Dream like a Dream and Japan Noh Theatre, by analyzing the narrative structure and space elements in A Dream like a Dream.