DNA
As the second part of the Year 11 double bill, we saw
in Dennis Kelly’s play DNA the consequences of how
a teenage joke can go badly wrong.
Set in the round, the production allowed audience
members an intimate view into the lives of a group of
teenagers abruptly forced to change when Jude (Jude
Vyas), the subject of brutal bullying, is suspected to
be dead.
An interesting aspect of the show was the way in
which each character’s reaction to the death was
explored. We saw how personal responsibility for a
peer’s death can really affect one’s mental health,
through the experiences of Cameron (Cameron
Delpech) and his subsequent diagnosis and
prescription of medications. The responses of other
characters, Imogen (Imogen Salmon), Valery (Valery
Bogdanova) and Katerina (Katerina Panayiotou),
perfectly encapsulated how people respond differently
to such events.
The cast delivered the often challenging lines with
true emotion. Dennis Kelly’s use of repetition and
constant interruption was used to full effect. The
ensemble and duologue scenes pushed the tension as
the characters showed regret and remorse for their
behaviour towards Jude. In the ensemble scenes, the
control exerted by Alice (Alice McQuail), created a
powerful image of how scared the group were, not
only of what they had done, but also of being found
out, and illustrated how the death shook up existing
group dynamics and hierarchies.
Mia Hart, Lower Sixth
SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2018-2019
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