‘Cockroach’ Bridges Age Gap Poignantly

One of the saddest measures of contemporary cultural fragmentation is the polarization of young and old into hostile camps. The extent to which the generation gap of the ‘60s has widened to an abyss in the ‘90s is startlingly apparent in London playwright Jess Walters’ edgy “Cockroach, Who?,” making its U.S. debut at the 24th Street Theatre.

Replete with street-smart dialect and punctuated by bursts of raucous rock music in L. Zane’s gritty staging for Tuesday Laboratory, Walters’ depiction of teenage girls fending for themselves in a lower-class housing project seethes with the rudderless energy of alienated youth.

Bereft of mature guidance, Natasha (Ranjani Brow) and her cohorts (Lenore Thomas, Ani Williams) are forced to initiate themselves into adulthood, with limited success. Their crossing paths (and psychological swords) with a trio of older women (Annie Abbott, Sandra Kinder, Marnie Crossen) in the local laundry room bears unexpected fruit, as Walters attempts to bridge the age gulf with surprising delicacy and offbeat humor. Although the piece seems too narrowly focused in spots, it’s a compelling story told in a distinctive--and very promising--new voice.

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* “Cockroach, Who?” 24th Street Theatre, 1117 W. 24th St., Los Angeles. Thursday, March 13 and 21, 8 p.m.; March 22, 7 p.m. Ends March 22. $15. (213) 660-8587. Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.