Rum and Vodka (dir. Kevin O’Connor, prod. Philip Doherty, Gonzo Theatre Company) — The International Bar The narrator of Conor McPherson’s black-hearted 1992 monologue is a mess and getting messier. Rum and vodka, we’re told, is a cocktail fit to wake the dead, but this is wishful thinking for the wretch in front of us here, for whom it’s just another step in a desperate sprint towards oblivion. Kieron Smith throws himself into the role, spitting and snarling and riding the script’s warring currents of bravado and self-loathing with skill and a perverse charm. He keeps the energy up well despite the occasional flabbiness of McPherson’s writing (with some anecdotes dragging on after the point’s been made, and a too-neat progression that belies the erratic dizziness of a real drunken rant). But in the end it’s all a bit too _sober_, a bit too controlled. Smith is too steady on his … There’s more →