NARRATOR:'Fearing they've killed a school boy in a bullying incident.'
PHIL:Tell no one, or we'll all go to prison.
NARRATOR:'A teenage gang disastrously tries to cover its traces.'
PHIL:A fat Caucasian male, five-nine say, with thinning hair and a postman's uniform.
NARRATOR:'The result is murder.'
LEAH:The world has just changed, reality is not what we think.
NARRATOR:'Welcome to the plot of Dennis Kelly's 'DNA'.
MARK:Someone pegged a stone at him. Not to hit him, just for the laugh.
NARRATOR:'In an unspecified town, at an unspecified time a boy called Adam is feared dead.'
MARK:Adam was an outsider, he was always hanging around.
JAN:Trying to be part of the gang…
MARK:And we started having a laugh–
JAN:pushing him about a bit…
MARK:And he was laughing as well!
JAN:Crying as well…
MARK:And then he dropped into this grill… and now we think he's dead.
NARRATOR:'The news travels back to the group, who all react differently.'
JOHN:No one say's that word, OK? NO ONE!
RICHARD:What, "dead"?
NARRATOR:'Gang leader John Tate stresses out.'
JOHN:So, y'know… I'm told some of the gang have killed Adam… and I'm all stressed,
JOHN:and in a flap and in denial. And I go and find God, leaving Phil in charge.
LEAH:What you thinking? No! Don't tell me… Sorry! that's a stupid, that’s such a stupid… You can tell me you know? You can talk to me?
NARRATOR:'While Phil, with his long suffering girlfriend Leah, keeps a cool head.'
LEAH:So up till now, Phil hasn't said nothing.
LEAH:Y'know, whatever he wants he just doesn't Nothing. So y'know, it's just been me talking and talking about how I talk too much but… but well Phil, hasn't said nothing. Haven't you Phil? And then he comes with this idea to send the cops on a wild goose chase!
PHIL:Plan is, to tell the cops some weirdo flasher has been operating in the area…
PHIL:By the bridge, last week… A fat Caucasian male, five-nine say, with thinning hair and a postman's uniform. Sad eyes… Softly spoken.
PHIL:Then we plant one of Adams jumpers, with the D.N.A of a random stranger on it near the scene of the crime, and we put them off our scent.
NARRATOR:'When the authorities believe the lie, Phil is embraced as leader of the group, and everything seems to settle down. The dirty secret appears to bring them all closer.'
LEAH:Everything is much better though, I mean really it is! Everyone's working together, they're a lot happier.
RICHARD:Then, one day, the cops arrest this postman.
RICHARD:Who matches our made up description and there's even the posties DNA on the jumper. I mean, that’s impossible! Surely?!
NARRATOR:'It appears Cathy has shown initiative. She's managed to find a fat balding postman with bad teeth and rubbed to rub his DNA on the jumper.'
CATHY:But isn't that?–
LEAH:No Cathy! it's not what we wanted!
RICHARD:What we wanted, was to cover up what had happened! Not to frame someone else!
NARRATOR:'But as the lies begin to escalate the group goes with it. And allow the man to be framed and it appears to work until.'
PHIL:Out of the blue, one of the gang discovers Adam. He's not dead at all. He's living in a hedge, just banged his head. Eating dead animals. So, what do you do?
PHIL:If he comes back… Our lives are ruined. He can't come back, Cathy.
LEAH:Oh great! Now you're talking to Cathy?! Like, I'm not, I'm not, because you don't like what I say? And now it's Cathy?!
NARRATOR:'When Phil plots with Cathy to kill Adam it’s the last straw for Leah.'
LEAH:You sit there and say nothing for years! And suddenly now your chatting with Cathy?!
LEAH:So, Phil gets Cathy to kill Adam and I've had enough. And I finally stop talking and leave. Which, amazingly prompts Phil to talk to me for the first time.
PHIL:Leah!
LEAH:But I don't come back. I just leave him staring into the distance at nothing.
NARRATOR:'And the play concludes with Richard taking Leah's place, talking to Phil being ignored.'
RICHARD:Come back Phil? Phil?
The plot of DNA by Dennis Kelly is explored using a mixture of short dramatised sequences, narration and talking head-style interviews with some of the key characters.
The characters remain in role in the interview-style sequences, commenting on the developing plot of the play and explaining their views on the events and their role in what has taken place.
The narrator explains the plot as some key moments are played out.
The action sequences illustrate the three main settings through the use of symbolic elements designed to demonstrate the wood, the street and the field.
This is from the series: Making a scene
Teacher Notes
Could be used to summarise the events of the play as a revision activity.
After a first, initial reading, students could watch the sequence in order to gain a fuller understanding of the main events and the shape of the play as a whole.
Curriculum Notes
This clip is relevant for teaching English Literature and Drama GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It also appears in OCR, Edexcel, AQA, WJEC and CCEA.
DNA - The Main Themes. video
An overview of some of the main themes in D.N.A. by Dennis Kelly.
DNA - The Main Characters. video
An overview of some of the main characters in DNA by Dennis Kelly.
Blood Brothers - Plot. video
An overview of the plot of Blood Brothers by Willy Russell.
Blood Brothers - The Main Themes. video
An overview of some of the main themes in Blood Brothers by Willy Russell.
Blood Brothers - The Main Characters. video
An overview of some of the main characters in Blood Brothers by Willy Russell.
The History Boys - Plot. video
An overview of the plot of The History Boys by Alan Bennett.
The History Boys - The Main Themes. video
An overview of some of the main themes in The History Boys by Alan Bennett.
The History Boys - The Main Characters. video
An overview of some of the main characters in The History Boys by Alan Bennett.
