The opening to my trio of Shakespeare plays was an avant-garde Rupert Goold production of The Merchant of Venice. And it was certainly a spectacle.

It's set in Las Vegas complete with an Elvis-impersonator, slot machines  and game-show vignettes. The female leads Portia (Susannah Fielding) and Nerissa (Emily Plumtree) have American accents from the deep south, wear their hair bouffant, their eye-lashes long and heels high. The American accents are more mainstream through the rest of the cast aside from one of Portia's suitors who is Mexican.

What I gleaned from the story is that the rich Portia has been left three boxes from which her suitors have to choose one - if they discover her portrait inside they win her hand in marriage. Bassanio (Richard Riddell) fancies Portia but needs money in order to be a suitor and calls upon his good friend Antonio (Scott Handy) for help.

Antonio is having cash-flow problems with resources tied up in various trading deals which have yet to come to fruition, so he offers to use his good credit to borrow the money for Bassanio. He goes to Jewish money-lender Shylock (Patrick Stewart) who agrees to lend him the money, the bond being not interest but a pound of Antonio's flesh. (Get the impression Shylock is just a bit peeved with Antonio).

Of course Antonio defaults on the loan and Shylock demands his pound of flesh. Bassanio is distraught and Portia secretly runs to his friend's aid.

I'm not going to lie, the final scene where Portia dances with her blond wig in her hand wearing just one stilletoed shoe confused the hell out of me and it was only down to my friend Jen's explanation (she's more familiar with the story) that I eventually got it's meaning.