Rachel De-lahay returns to her native Birmingham for this sharply observed urban drama which, judging by its enthusiastic reception by a varied Tricycle audience, has equally strong resonance further south.

In a pair of related stories, two teenagers bond during their winding journey on the number 11 bus, while a woman returns home seeking refuge from a violent relationship. Tessa Walker’s brisk production, with understated set from Bob Bailey, moves easily and efficiently between them.

De-lahay’s work is hugely effective while her characters dance around their deeper problems with sparky, authentic lingo. As wannabe lothario Malachi, Toyin Omari-Kinch displays excellent comic timing, switching from street swagger to endearing solemnity while using Monster Munch as a tool of seduction.

His energetic banter with fellow dispossessed teen Demi (feisty Danusia Samal) drives the piece and their ironic bus tour is a highlight, making thought-provoking points without sliding into didacticism.

An evocatively sketched relationship between pessimistic, passive-aggressive Phyllis and her brightly obstinate daughter Angela, clinging to her rose-tinted denial, is well played by Janice McKenzie and Sarah Manners respectively, juxtaposing strained normality with alarming bursts of conflict.

Yet when De-lahay shifts into a more overt ‘issues’ play, particularly in a rushed conclusion to an otherwise nicely paced 70 minutes, it becomes awkwardly heavy-handed, with several beats overemphasised and the winning specificity lost.

Nevertheless, there is acute examination of victim and survivor roles, the corrosive effect of offering help yoked to judgement, alienating displacement, and cycles of destructive behaviour, whether abusive relationships or the insidious nature of gang culture.

In particular, De-lahay offers a unique and urgent perspective on violence towards women, too often used for pure shock value in contemporary drama. The far-reaching effects exhibited in Circles are sometimes surprising, always deeply disquieting.

Rating: Three stars

Until June 14.