We are in a sleazy nightclub in Buenos Aires. At a table to the left a group of men play cards; to the right is a bar with three flashily-dressed girls on stools, and a limping, world-weary barman. At the back of the stage sits the club band a mild-looking, bespectacled bandoneon player and a slightly prim looking violinist. A sluttish waitress moodily serves drinks.

Pains have been taken to present us with a bunch of no-hopers, so it's a surprise when the musicians begin to play; rivetingly sensuous tango music pours forth in a continuous stream from two top-class performers. Igor Outkine is a virtuoso on the bandoneon, and manages to sing beautifully at the same time, while Sarah Harrison's violin weaves passionately around his vocals.

The waitress turns out to be Malena. She is waiting (no pun intended) for a long departed lover, Rodrigo, and this is her story. Patrissia Cuberos, who plays her, is the writer and creator of this show, and in addition to perceptively-written short monologues, she sings to us in a deep and moving voice, transforming herself from cheap-looking waitress into a deeply wounded and inherently dignified woman who still clings to the hope that her lover will some day return.

That's really all the story there is. The minor characters get up and dance the tango, return to their tables or the bar, change partners, gamble their money away. They successfully create just the right atmosphere. Unlike Cuberos and the musicians, the dancers are not professionals, but their performance is convincing as customers who regularly frequent this rather tawdry dance floor, and they show us the passionate undercurrents within the graceful body-line and nifty footwork of the tango. Malena tells us about her desire for freedom and her refusal to give in, but this piece is mainly a glimpse into the lives of characters who are much more than the roles in which life has trapped them. It succeeds through the creation of a convincing atmosphere, and a group of people who make you believe in them.

The music is terrific, and the tall, indomitable Malena is a memorable figure.