So who is Shylock?

William Shakespeare''s great, troublesome play. Anti-Semetic, loved by Hermann Goering. Much analysed, much performed.
"Shakespeare stole the plot from an Italian. Why he stole most of the ideas, but he was fantastic in the writing."
Shakespearean actor Gareth Armstrong should know. For he more than any other contemporary actor showcases Shylock in the context of the Elizabethian England of 400 years ago.
This evening and the morrow, he''ll present Shylock at the Yavanika, courtesy The British Council and The Oberoi.
"No, I have no message. I am an actor playing one of theatre''s most abused characters."
Zoom in on Shylock..."I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heal''d by the same means...as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"
Shylock as seen through the eyes of his friend Tubal, the bitterness a product of persecution.
"The pound of flesh, which I demand of him, Is dearly bought, ''tis mine, and I will have it..."
Armstrong''s solo show maintains a frenetic pace. In quick silver movements he plays the other dramatis personae of the play - Antonio, Portia...to contextualise Shylock. He even essays Adolf Hitler, for the architect of the Holocaust never realised his pogrom would one day result in the creation of the State of Israel and in the decades to follow a flashpoint -- Christianity, Judaism, Islam in one terrible churning, as Palestinians suicide-bombed Jerusalem.
Serious, innovative, energetic, delightful...all descriptions from various critics of this acclaimed show that takes us on a roller coaster ride through the problems, pressures, traditions, censorship, prejudices and passions of Elizabethan theatre.
Next stop, a collaboration with writer Stephen Davies exploring Prospero in The Tempest.