A case for Shylock : around the world with Shakespeare's Jew

Having established a moderately successful, but inevitably intermittent, acting career, including - uniquely - playing three separate characters in The Archers, Gareth Armstrong felt the need of a reliable side-line to cover the gaps.

A one-man show seemed the answer - and Shylock a good subject.

But no-one was more surprised than he by the way first his research and then the character took over his life.

He has now travelled the world over with Shylock, from San Francisco to Sri Lanka, from Romania to New Zealand, his myriad encounters enriching both him and the show, adding ever more threads to his one-man story of the Jew.

Frequently hilarious, often provocative, this account of a Gentile actor's exploration and discovery of the most famous of fictional Jews is fascinating, revealing - and always entertaining.