DNA is a modern drama in 14 short scenes. It revolves around the 'accidental' torture and murder of a teenage boy named Adam, which has happened just before the events of the play. The subsequent story concerns the guilty teenagers' efforts to cover up their crime and move on with their lives. This group consists of ten members:
Leah - Easily the most vocal of the group. Usually seen with Phil, the quietest. Leah is intelligent, but unsure of herself. A moral girl.
Phil - Always using his mouth, but usually to eat. Rude to Leah. Whenever he speaks, he displays a sinister intellect.
Mark & Jan - Never apart, Mark and Jan give the audiences clues through their inferences. Easily led. Low moral fiber.
Brian - Sensitive. Cries for much of the play and is forced to go along with the plans. Anti-depressants utterly change his behaviour.
John Tate - Apparently new to the school and a bully. Cannot handle the stress of events and eventually turns to Jesus.
Cathy - Sociopath who is more excited than repulsed by events. A willing participant in all the worst aspects of the play.
Richard - A lesser character. Acts tougher than he is. Usually paired with Brian as a handler.
Danny - Lesser character. Future dentist, more obsessed with his prospects than any moral concerns.
Lou - Mostly an onlooker, though goes along with the plan. Highly repetitive.
Slide 3
Act 3 Scene 1
Street
Jan and Mark
They continue their usual, vague and veiled speech patterns.
Eventually they get to the point - 'Cathy found him in the woods.'
Though who 'he' is, and what he was doing in the woods remains a point of darkness for the audience.
A Field.
Leah and Phil.
Leah carries a suitcase. Phil holds a waffle.
Leah announces her intention to leave to an unmoved Phil.
Through her speech, we learn that, though John Tate remains indoors and Brian has started taking medication, the community has never been stronger. The legacy of Adam's death is nationwide attention. Cathy is a minor celebrity. Dogs and babies are named in honour of a boy who was frequently forgotten in life, Adam. The innocent postman may be going to prison, but otherwise, the world still turns.
A Wood
Cathy, Brian, Leah, Mark, Jan, Lou, Phil and...Adam
The newly anti-depressed Brian has found Adam living like a tramp in a hedge complex in the woods. He appears to have memory loss from a head-wound suffered in the fall. He has foraged and eaten insects to survive.
No-one knows he's still alive, except for those present.
The group begin to discuss the implications of Adam's return. They will appear to be liars. What if his memory returns?
Phil speaks.
'Everyone is happier. What's more important; one person or everyone?...If he comes back our lives are ruined. He can't come back, Cathy.'
Through Leah's ignored protests, Phil explains to Cathy how to make Adam disappear...again.
Using Brian as a dummy, he places a plastic bag over his head. A drugged Brian thinks this is a game and plays along.
Slide 6
Act 3 Scene 4
A Field.
PHIL and LEAH, sitting. Complete silence. PHIL takes out a pack of Starburst. Opens· Has one. Chews. Thinks. He offers one to LEAH. She takes it. She begins to quietly cry. Crying, she puts the sweet in her mouth and begins to chew. PHIL puts his arm around her. Suddenly she stops chewing and spits the sweet out. Gets up, stares at PHIL. Storms off
PHIL: Leah? Leah?
A Street
Jan and Mark
The pair, acting as a modern version of a Greek chorus, explain in their own drawn out way, that someone has gone.
Gone. Moved schools.
'Has anyone told Phil?'
We must assume they are talking about Leah.
A Field
Richard and Phil.
Phil does not talk or eat. Leah's departure has profoundly affected him. Richard tries to persuade Phil to rejoin and take command of the group. He explains the current state of things. John Tate has found God. Danny is doing work experience at a dentists, which he hates. Brian is on stronger medication and may be 'sectioned'. Cathy has assumed control and exhibits a vicious streak. Lou, Mark and Jan are being led astray.
Richard impersonates Leah to provoke a reaction.
There is none.
End of play.
