Moscow Stations - Crypt Arts Centre

Spoken by Venya, a drunk living in the Moscow underground, this monologue draws a sharp-edged picture of the collapsed Soviet…

Spoken by Venya, a drunk living in the Moscow underground, this monologue draws a sharp-edged picture of the collapsed Soviet system where vodka is currency and people live and die on the margins, unprotected.

Writer Venedikt Yerofeev uses the usual reported dialogues and humorous anecdotes to disguise a fluctuating narrative, boldly switching tense to leave continual uncertainty as to Venya's whereabouts - in space or time.

All eventually becomes clear, but this central ambiguity makes for immediate problems that actor Paddy Scully, and director Carol Moore are unable to resolve. Still, Scully provides some moments of insight and this remains a thoughtful monologue that reflects a wider significance.

Until Saturday, 7 p.m.