No other plays lend themselves to such diverse ranges of productions as does Shakespeare, from the grand operatic style to minimalist productions on park lawns. The Lord Lackbeards Touring Company productions of Shakespeare are very much in line with the later and their The Merchant of Venice is no exception.

Played in the round with six actors playing 15 characters using minimal props and no furniture, directors Shaneel Sidal and Bop Murdoch with artistic director Ania Upstill have done a great job in both pairing the story back to under two hours and presenting it in a lively and highly energised way.

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The bar (upstairs at the Irish Society) is open, they’re playing Texas Hold ’Em at the pool table, a woman with a guitar is singing ‘I Will Survive’ (no mirror ball above her though) and the cabaret seating around a thrust space is inviting …

The idea that Antonio is in love with Bassanio who is strategising to wed the wealthy Portia is not overtly played but nor is it contradicted as he shares his sadness with Salerino and Solanio, here played as Gaiety Girls from the casino.

Sure Bassanio meets Portia’s passion for him with appropriate fervour but there is no getting away from the fact that, when the pound of flesh penalty is about the be enacted (Act 4 scene 1) and Antonio bids him to tell his wife of his love, Bassanio replies: “But life itself, my wife, and all the world / Are not with me esteemed above thy life; / I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all / Here to this devil, to deliver you.” Be it mateship or reciprocated gay love, it’s certainly strong.

Given the theme of religious intolerance – mostly Christian against Jew with the sentiments vengefully reciprocated by Shylock that weaves through Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice – the self-imposed denial of same-sex love in favour of complying with the conventions of property-centric heterosexual marriage can add interesting depth and resonance.

Not that depth is the objective in this Lord Lackbeards touring production, directed by Shaneel Sidal and Bop Murdoch. Played in modern dress, the prevailing mood captures the transition of privileged young adults from feckless fun times (cf. the casino) to the more settled and financially responsible phase of life that marriage implies. And the lightness of touch in its playing allows the text to trip off tongues with a pleasing clarity, most of the time.

Spendthrift Bassanio (Cormac Maguire) owes wealthy merchant Antonio (Scott Ransom) a lot of money and wants to pay him back by marrying the wealthy heiress Portia (Katie Boyle), of Belmont, but to seem eligible he needs more cash. Antonio’s ships being at sea cause a cash-flow problem so he borrows from the money lender, Shylock (Andrew Goddard), despite having been openly disparaging of his race and religion. Shylock loans him money on the understanding that if Antonio defaults the forfeit will be a pound of flesh to be cut from a place of his choosing.

The gold, silver or lead caskets the suitors must choose from (as dictated by Portia’s late father) are Smart Phones in this production and Bassanio wins by choosing lead (black) which is fortunate because Portia fancies him already. So they marry and so do his happy-go-lucky mate Gratiano (Andrew Goddard) and Portia’s handmaid Nerissa (Sabrina Martin). When the men depart for Venice, the women give them keepsake rings.

Meanwhile another mate, Lorenzo (Scott Ransom), and Shylock’s daughter Jessica (Jackie Rowland) have eloped and Jessica has converted to Christianity – denoted with a humungously unsubtle crucifix hung round her neck.

When Antonio’s ships are lost at sea he is unable to repay the loan, so Shylock claims his pound of flesh, to be cut from his chest nearest the heart. Disguised as a Lawyer, with Nerissa as her Clerk, Portia judges the claim, agrees Shylock is entitled but insists he must take a precise pound, no more or less, or everything will be forfeited. Despite Shylock’s backing off, she finds a way of stripping him of all his wealth and dignity and insisting he converts to Christianity – which is the problematical part of this play given there is no come-uppance for this massive injustice and intolerance.

The Lawyer and Clerk talk Bassanio and Gratiano into giving them their rings in gratitude – and back in Belmont the women torment their husbands about giving away their rings before revealing their ruse. And Antonio discovers three of his ships, and the wealth they carry, are safe. So all is happily resolved – except for Shylock: no gently dropping mercy for him.

Having six actors play 17 characters means trimming of text conflation of characters which mostly works well except for giving Gratiano’s glee at the disguised Portia’s cleverness to the Duke (Jackie Rowland). I’d suggest Nerissa, as the Clerk, should deliver those lines as asides to the audience.

Andrew Goddard fully embodies both his roles – Gratiano and Shylock – with impressive credibility. While Shylock’s revenge motive must, as always, lead to his downfall it’s impossible not to feel sympathy for him, given how over-the-top the penalty is. Thus we are compelled to confront the reality of how intolerance perpetuates itself so mercilessly.

Katie Boyle makes Portia a light-hearted socialite whose intelligence shines through when it counts. Sabrina Martin notably contrasts her efficient Nerissa with a clownish Lancelot Gobbo and a business-like Tubal.

Scott Ransom’s Antonio and Cormac Maguire’s Bassanio serve the text well and double effectively as Portia’s suitors, Balthazar and Arragon respectively – but Bassiano’s logic for choosing as he does could be clearer. Jackie Rowland is a memorable Jessica and acquits herself well of her other roles.

I do feel there could be a stronger delineation between the privileged lifestyles and the intrusion of unwelcome realities, culminating in a court scene with much more life-and-death tension. Whereas that would intensify the drama, a stronger sense of jeopardy in the final scene – about the rings – would add to the comedy.

As an exercise in delivering Shakespeare in an easily digestible form that nevertheless makes us think twice, Lord Lackbeards’ The Merchant of Venice delivers.

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