Career
Armstrong began his career by acting in school plays at the Bishop Gore School, Swansea. At the age of 16 he joined the National Youth Theatre. And went on from there to study drama at Hull University.
On stage he has played leading roles in most of the United Kingdom"s regional theatres including Birmingham Republican, Nottingham Playhouse and the Bristol Old Vic where parts ranged from Mamet to Molière.
He has specialised in Shakespearean theatre where roles have included Romeo, Richard III, Oberon, Macbeth, Shylock and Prospero. He has also toured to over fifty countries and all over the United States with his own one-man show Shylock, in which Shakespeare"s principal Jewish character is seen from the viewpoint of Tubal, the Bard"s only other male Jewish character and Shylock"s only friend in the original play.
He played at Shakespeare"s Globe in 2008, 2010, and 2011. As a freelance he has directed all over the United Kingdom, as well as in Europe, and the United States.
In 2004 he published his account of presenting his solo play in A Case for Shylock - Around the World with Shakespeare"s Jew.
His most recent book "So You Want To Do A Solo Show", an instructional book for professional actors, is published by Nick Hern Books. He has lectured and taught in campuses across the United States and taken workshops and masterclasses in India, Sri Lanka and all over the United Kingdom. He is a guest director at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and an Examiner in Speech and Drama for Trinity College London. Armstrong"s television credits include: Z-Cars, Doctor Who (in the serial The Masque of Mandragora), Blake"s 7, The Professionals, Terry and June, One Foot in the Grave, Casualty and EastEnders and Birds of a Feather.
Armstrong did the voice acting for the character of Sandy in the Japanese television series Saiyūki, released in English-speaking countries as Monkey.
On radio Armstrong has played three recurring roles in The Archers on Radio 4, including Sean Myerson, the publican of the Cat and Fiddle and the serial"s first regular gay character.