Hasn't schlock theatre been done to death by now?

It seems that every generation of writers and directors throws up a new maverick who sets out to confront audiences by making their work as shocking and graphic as possible.

The latest in the line, which started with Orton; peaked with Berkoff and hit rock bottom with Mark Ravenhill's Shopping and F******, is Chris O'Connell whose work Street Trilogy: Car Raw Kid is now on at the Battersea Arts Centre.

According to the press blurb, O'Connell's trilogy portrays the vulnerable and violent as they lash out against the world around them'.

This all sounds very admirable, but isn't it an excuse for swearing and fighting before the actors spend the next few scenes justifying their actions, playing themselves as victims of society displaying an emotional intelligence at odds with their characters?

Car is about four thieves who nick a motor. Bound together by crime they are each on a separate crash course.

Lex, the anti-hero of Raw, is a girl who lives for violence. She and her crew are addicted to it, that and mugging, but when they go too far and a young man loses his life their lives go into free-fall.

In Kid, Zoe and Lee are on the run, K's a lost soul and Bradley wants to be a boy. It's the hottest day of the year and there is a secret desperate to be told.

Trilogy runs until March 5. Tickets for individual shows are £5.50-£10.75, any two shows are £9-£18 and any three shows £14-£27. Cut price tickets to all three shows are available every Wednesday.

Call 020 7223 2223.