Dennis Kelly’s
Deoxyribonucleic Acid
Quick Notes
Summary
Jan and Mark talk together on the Street. Mark is telling Jan about something, and Jan can barely believe what he
is saying. She keeps interrupting him, asking him questions like “really dead?”, and Mark keeps assuring her that
he is being serious and yes, “really dead.”
Next we move to the Field, where Leah and Phil sit together. Phil is silent and eating, while Leah talks in a lengthy
monologue which reveals how insecure she is. It’s obvious that she’s looking for some sort of reaction from Phil,
but she never gets it. Suddenly Jan and Mark arrive, and tell Phil and Leah that they have to come with them.
Leah realises that something is very wrong.
John Tate, Lou and Danny all stand together in the forest. John Tate tries to convince Lou that things aren’t as bad
as they seem to be. Lou doesn’t believe him, and keeps repeating “he’s dead” until John Tate informs her that the
word ‘dead’ is now banned. Danny is panicking, and is afraid that what they have done will hinder him from
getting into dental college. Cathy, Brian and Richard walk in. Cathy seems excited by what is happening, while
Brian won’t stop crying. John Tate’s leadership is briefly challenged by Richard, but he is quickly suppressed. Mark
and Jan then arrive with Leah and phil. John Tate orders them to tell Leah and Phil what happened. Together,
Mark and Jan describe how the group bullied a boy named Adam until he accidently fell off a grille over a pit. He
is dead. John Tate asks Phil what they should do. After a moment of silence, Phil outlines a perfect plan to make it
seem as though a fat postman with bad teeth abducted Adam. He is calm and articulate. The others interrupt
him occasionally, but he ignores them and in the end they all follow his orders.
We are back in the Field with Leah and Phil. Leah is obviously upset by what has happened, but cannot address it
directly. She talks about the differences between the gentle bonobos and violent chimps, and how humans are
more closely related to the bonobos. Phil continues to eat and ignore her.
Jan and Mark talk together on the street. Similar to the last time we saw them together, Mark is telling Jan
something, and Jan is interjecting in disbelief. We are told that someone is refusing to go somewhere.
In the Field, Leah and Phil site together. This time Leah is talking about the inherent nature of sadness. In what
appears to be an attempt to shock Phil into a response, Leah produces a Tupperware container and says that her
pet ‘Jerry’ is in there. She describes how she killed him, but there is no response from Phil.
In the Forest, the teenagers are all gathered together. The police have found a man who matches the description
of the imaginary abductor that Phil made up. The teenagers are baffled until it is revealed that Cathy hunted
down a man of the description and made sure that some of Adam’s DNA got onto his clothes. The police have
contacted one of the teens, the weepy Brian, and asked him to come back to the station to give a positive
identification. Brian is refusing to go. This is what Jan and Mark were talking about on the street. Things take a
dark turn when Phil threatens to push Brian off the grille if he doesn’t go. Brian agrees.
We are with Leah and Phil in the Field once more. Leah is again talking, desperately trying to make any sort of
meaningful connection with Phil, trying to get him to respond to her or acknowledge her presence in any way.
This time, Leah talks about the déjà vu she is experiencing, and then goes on to question the existence of fate as
Phil sits and picks at his teeth. “Do you think we’re doomed to behave like people before us did? If you change
one thing you change the world. Do you believe in that?” Leah eventually resorts to shouting in an attempt to get
a reaction from Phil.
We are back on the Street with Jan and Mark. Again, in typical cryptic manner, they talk about how Cathy has
‘found someone’ in the woods.
In the Field, Leah arrives with a packed suitcase, claiming that she is leaving. When this gets no response from
Phil, she sits beside him, defeated. . Leah starts talking about Adam’s memorial and that she has seen Cathy on
television. She tells him that everyone seems happier now – “funny thing is, they’re actually behaving better as
well…” It’s clear that Leah is not able to forget what they have done to an innocent man however. She cannot let
go of the fact that “the postman’s facing the rest of his life in prison.” She also mentions that Brian is on
medication and that John Tate hasn’t been seen in weeks. Suddenly, a panicked Jan and Mark arrive, insisting that
Phil and Leah need to come with them.
In the Forest, it is shockingly revealed that Adam is still alive. He hit his head when he fell from the grille, and
might have brain damage. Phil realises that he could implicate them in his disappearance if he returns home.
Without directly saying what he is doing, Phil demonstrates to Cathy how to hold a plastic bag over Brian's head,
asking her if she understands what she needs to do. Leah doesn’t know what’s going on, and desperately asks Phil
to explain. Cathy says she understands, and Phil orders Brian to help her. When Leah realises what is happening,
she begs them not to do it. She is ignored, and Cathy and Brian both lead Adam away.
Leah and Phil sit in the Field. It is a familiar scene, but something is very different. Leah is completely silent, and
stares down at the ground. She begins to cry quietly. For the first time in the play, Phil responds to her. He puts
his arm over her shoulders and gives her a sweet. Leah takes it and puts it in her mouth, but after a moment she
spits it out and storms away. Phil is left behind, desperately calling her name.
Jan and Mark stand on the Street and reveal that someone is ‘gone’.
In the Field, Richard and Phil sit together. As per usual, Phil is silent. However, for the first time in the entire play,
he is not eating. Richard has taken on Leah’s role, and desperately tries to get some sort of response from Phil.
Richard reveals what has happened to the rest of the group, showing how Adam’s death has affected them all.
Cathy is now a dangerous psychopath – “She loves violence now” – and Lou is her best friend. Brian’s mind
snapped under the pressure and he may be sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Danny has discovered that he
abhors dentistry. John Tate has joined a Christian cult. Jan and Mark have taken up shoplifting. Leah has moved to
another school, and no one has heard from her – she is who Jan and Mark were talking about on the street.
Richard seems to be calmer, more patient, and makes introspective statements during his monologue: “There are
more stars in the Universe than grains of sand on Brighton beach.” He ends the play on a question.
List of Major Characters
Mark and Jan
Mark and Jan constantly come as a pair throughout the play. They act as something of a chorus, bringing new
information to the stage every time they are on it. They throw the audience directly into the action at the
beginning of each Act and fill in any blanks in the story. Mark and Jan’s moral compass is questionable. They
realise that they have done something wrong, but still go along with the cover-up plan.
Leah
Leah is undeniably one of the most interesting characters in DNA. She is intelligent, insightful and acts as a
narrator figure during the play. Her monologues punctuate the narrative, and offer existential insight into the
action of the play. Her insecurity is highlighted in her speeches, and her burning desire for some sort of response
from Phil is made very clear.
Phil
Phil is a very interesting character in this play. The ambiguity which surrounds him makes him a highly complex
character. Though onstage in many scenes, Phil rarely speaks. Usually his actions involve eating something (icecream, waffles, starburst etc.).
John Tate
It is hinted in the text that John Tate is a relatively new person to the group of friends. He describes how, because
of him, they are a gang to be feared in school, indicating that this has only been the case since he arrived. John
Tate starts out seeming like a classroom bully stereotype, but his character goes beyond that. We see him start to
question his own leadership abilities, and watch as he cracks under the pressure of the situation.
Cathy
From very early on in the play, Cathy is shown to have no remorse about the groups’ actions. She says that the
situation is “exciting” and “better than ordinary life.” By the end of the play we learn that Cathy has taken over
the gang. Her sadistic nature has fully developed, and she terrorises the school and other children around town.
Richard
Richard is a strong character in DNA, and is first introduced as someone who is potentially strong enough to oust
John Tate as leader of the group. Richard loves to project a charade of overtly masculine confidence, yet through
the course of the play he reveals that he is in fact a mess of insecurities.
Brian
Brian is the most sensitive character in the group, which means that he is often pushed and ordered around by
the others. At the end of the play Richard tells us that Brian is on “stronger and stronger medication” and may
even be sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
Adam
Adam is the victim of the play, the result of horrible bullying gone wrong. Adam seems as though he is quite a
weak personality. He wanted to be a part of the group so badly that he was willing to do a whole host of things to
be accepted
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