Actor Gareth Armstrong?s one-man portrayal of Shylock, a central character in Shakespeare?s ?Merchant of Venice?, opens tonight at City Hall theatre under the auspices of the Bermuda Festival, and promises theatregoers a riveting, thought-provoking insight into a character who, in the original play, combined comic relief with villany.

Mr. Armstrong, however, chooses to draws a different picture of Shylock. The more he discourses about hundreds of years of Jewish persecution through the centuries, the easier it is to see Shylock in more human terms, and in the context of unavoidable racial discrimination.

The actor has chosen to explore Shakespeare?s text from the point of view of Tubal ? Shylock?s best friend, and the only other Jew in all of Shakespeare?s plays. ?A single parent, from an ethnic minority, with a stressful job, who lives in a ghetto,? is how the actor/playwright sums up his storyline. In actual fact, the ghetto of Shylock?s day was an act of Venetian generosity, where the usual choice for Jews was between death and conversion.

?Shylock, the single parent with the stressful job, could continue to live and work with the Christians in the city and come home at sundown and withdraw into his own world.?

Shakespeare has taken Gareth Armstrong to over 30 countries worldwide as an actor, director and teacher. More recently, he ha splayed the title roles of ?Richard III? and ?Macbeath? as well as his highly-acclaimed performance as Shylock in Salisbury Playhouse?s ?The Merchant of Venice?.

The son of a Presbyterian minister, Mr. Armstrong went back to the New Testament as part of his preparation for ?Shylock?. Although he was illuminated by, and understands more of the legacy of anti-Semitism as seen from the perspective of St. Matthew?s gospel, the Welsh actor describes himself as a lapsed Christian. In the end, Mr. Armstrong?s ?Shylock? illuminates a shared humanity.

Performances of ?Shylock? take place tonight and tomorrow night, beginning at 8 p.m. Please note: doors will close five minutes before curtain time, and there will be no late admissions until the interval. For ticket information visit the Festival box office next to the ferry terminal on Front Street between noon and 2 p.m., including tomorrow, or ( 296-5774.