Edinburgh '98: Theatre

GARETH ARMSTRONG'S dramatic monologue, Shylock, looks at attitudes towards Jews and Jewishness down the ages through the prism of The Merchant of Venice - a tour de force which will enrich your understanding of Shylock as a lasting measure of anti-Semitism.

Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh (0131-226 2428) 1.20pm

The European premiere of Hamlet (right), directed by Yukio Ninagawa, opens tonight for eight performances only. Although it is performed in Japanese, that should be no obstacle to enjoyment. His zen-garden A Midsummer Night's Dream, seen at the Mermaid Theatre in 1996, showed that Ninagawa has got Shakespeare down to a very fine art indeed.

Barbican Theatre, London EC1 (0171-638 8891) 7pm