It's in our DNA

Dennis Kelly’s DNA was an invigorating slap in the face to the usual norms of school drama.

The text tells the story of a gang of school pupils who have bullied a boy to death – he falls down an industrial shaft over which the children play dare games. With Adam dead, the pupils set about covering their tracks. Phil comes up with a plan. The pupils will invent a story: how they saw Adam talking with a post office worker. They need to get a jumper out of Adam’s bedroom, get someone random to hold it for a DNA trace, then plant it for the Police to find. Hey presto! Random mystery child molester who doesn’t exist is framed for the disappearance. What could possibly go wrong?

Staged with the distinctive physical theatre style of Frantic Assembly, the show was a dark and electrifying treat. The set encapsulated the gang’s den in the wood economically and starkly – a revolving box with sliding shutters was moved in synchronised style by the actors and their avatars: a shadow group of silent actors costumed identically to the speaking roles on stage. The younger Drama Scholars and others were fully immersed in the physical and dance moves the company as a whole performed, and hats off to them as this kind of work requires discipline and commitment which was provided in spades by Alexia Saettone Prado, Angus Alderson, Katie Riddle, Holly Brankin-Frisby, Tabitha Todd and Martha Goodwin.

Kelly’s play is a high-stakes script with the heightened naturalistic presentation of speech modern theatre thrives on. Phil’s silent presence leaves Leah prattling to herself, filing in the gaps of the conversation, questioning, answering,  whining, threatening. Isabella Toller  was phenomenal in this role, nagging and lapsing into silence, pausing and recovering the train of her thoughts like a pro. The rhythms of her delivery were spot on. In George Erith’s Phil, a coiled spring waited for the outlet of the vilest of human invention. Ignoring Leah, detached from human empathy, snacking constantly on yoghurt, fruit and sweets, the tension built until the menace promised was realised in his demonic control of the group of youngsters faced with the craziest of situations. Felix Badcock as a rival potential gang leader, John Tate, gave excellent value before his character crumbled into insignificance, power solidly in Phil’s hands. Max Richardson as Danny was a comic delight, his innocently smooth face heightened by the lighting design, all prissiness and self-preservation as he worried about his CV among the rising mayhem: “I’m going to be a dentist! I can’t get involved in this!” Mark (Bertie Tweed), Rachel (Annie Smith), Jan (Georgina Lewis), Cathy (Amaya Butler) and Lou (Emily Dutton) were all startling stage presences as the  remaining fretting and bickering school pupils. You wouldn’t want to get in a staring contest with these people or meet them in an alley on a dark night. Squabbling and jockeying for position in the hierarchy of the gang they were uniformly horrid, venal versions of the worst aspects of our human selves. That they held their roles with such authenticity is tribute to their skills and their process. Brian (Sammie Stokes was a weaker, younger member of the gang and played the traumatised youngster with harrowing effect. The scene in which a killing was practised on him – while clearly carefully blocked on stage for safety – made for very uncomfortable viewing.

And of course the plan goes wrong. For one thing, Adam isn’t dead. The fall didn’t kill him. He’s been living wild and eating bugs and mud. And secondly, Phil’s plan gets a little help in the shape of improvisation on the part of the gang members sent to execute the trick with the jumper. They go to the local postal sorting depot and get a post office worker to handle the jumper. So now there’s a real post office worker who’s been framed for Adam’s disappearance. Alex Hardy  and John Hardy shared the role of Adam to great effect – the one covered in blood, the other pristine in flashbacks. The story ends bleakly. Many plays do. There was a real sense of thrilling achievement as the actors froze into the final tableau to the shocked breathlessness of the audience before a great rattle of applause showed just how much the work had been appreciated. Many congratulations to all the offstage team of 32 pupils led by the directing team of Miss Rayner and Mr Holroyd. Consistent quality in the theatre shows this year has demonstrated that the strength in depth from Sixth to Fourth Form keeps raising the game.

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