David Edgar's version of Nicholas Nickleby, with masses of people and hours of time, is certainly one way to bring Dickens to the stage, as its recent revival has reminded us. But there are other ways. Jo Clifford's 1988 version of Great Expectations manages to get Pip, Miss Havisham, Estella, Magwitch, and Jaggers, their expectations and their disappointments, into just over two hours with only seven actors. So neatly does she extract the key scenes and dialogue that it has been in almost constant production by companies the world over since TAG Theatre in Glasgow first commissioned it, with Alan Cumming as Pip.

Of course, you don't get the teeming streets of London or the wide-open spaces of the marshes, where Pip has his first terrifying encounter with the escaped convict. There is no great fire at Miss Havisham's. And yet, the text is still open to a wide variety of stagings. Originally, there was a strong dance element. A couple of years ago, Perth theatre produced an expressionistic version, full of Dickensian detail and caricature.

This staging, directed by Ben Twist for Prime Productions, is about to head off on a 22-stop tour from Stranraer to Stornoway, so if you have expectations of elaborate sets and costumes, you are likely to be as disappointed as Pip. A couple of white sails, which pick up light and projections, and a black door are about it. Costume changes are kept to a minimum. It becomes a personal, close-up drama, with few histrionics and subtle character building. Happily, a strong cast is able to make this approach work well.

Dougal Lee is a genial Joe Gargery, the blacksmith who remains “best of friends” with Pip, but an even better Wemmick, the put-upon clerk to Mr Jaggers. Jenny Lee, in a torn and tattered wedding dress, is bitter but not hysterical as Miss Havisham. As Estella, Susan Coyle manages to make her deep brown eyes glitter with heartlessness. Richard Conlon is happier as the adult Pip than as the boy but there is real pathos in the final scene with Estella, all false hopes lost but a new knowledge dawning.

What really gives the production an extra edge, though, is the eerie and menacing soundscape designed by David Fennessy. Some of it is recorded but a lot is created live by the actors on a bizarre selection of objects from carving knives to chains.

Touring across Scotland until March 15, www.primeproductions.co.uk

Editor's choice

• The 100 Best Films of the Decade
• 70 facts you didn't know about Marvel
• The 50 Biggest Movies Of 2010