DNA: School Edition (Oberon Modern Plays)

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Adam wants to be part of the group and Mark and Jan see exactly what he will do to be part of their gang: These characters act as the ‘chorus’ or narrators. They throw the audience directly into the action at the beginning of each Act and are useful as they fill in any blanks for us. We get the impression that Mark and Jan might also be younger members of the group/ less able to assert themselves. They look to Phil for reassurance and take instructions from him. (p57) John Tate only appears in Act 1 Scene 3. He leads through using fear to control others. However, he is visibly falling apart during Act 1 Scene 3 as he panics and is unable to control those around him or the situation. He tries to ban the word, ‘dead,’ he says he will ‘bite their face. Or something. ’ if anyone uses the word again. However, the use of ‘Or something’ shows he has clearly not in control of his thoughts, words or the situation.

They all think that he’s dead, and go about making a plan to hide what they’ve done. Their plan goes slightly wrong when they frame an innocent postman for ‘kidnapping’ Adam. Brian, a member of their group, refuses to go to the police station and confirm that he saw the man alone with Adam. However, he ends up going because Phil threatens to throw him down the grate to ‘rot together’ with Adam. DNA presents the issue that characters acting as a group demolishes the restrictions a person acting individually would usually impose on themselves. Resulting, is the person’s susceptibility to conformist groupthink. An example of this in the story is Mark and Jan’s retelling of the incident that lead to Adam’s presumed demise. Their repeated use of “we” implies that they were intoxicated with the power and freedom of consequence they felt, in acting as a group, “We’re having a laugh thinking what’s this nutter going to do next, we can make him do, we can make him do…”. After learning of Adam’s death, however, their fear of facing repercussions that mirror the intimidation and abuse they themselves executed on Adam, is revealed by their willingness to cover up the murder. This fear acts as proof to show that the bullies do have the ability to sympathize with Adam. Yet despite knowing of their wrongdoing, they continued to harass him. Why? Scene 1: Mark and Jan discuss that someone is ‘dead’ and this throws the audience into the middle of the action. The nucleotide sequence of the human β-globin gene. This gene carries the information for the amino acid sequence of one of the two types of subunits of the hemoglobin molecule, which carries oxygen in the blood. A different gene, the α-globin (more...)The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson Scene 4: Leah speaks about bonobos being our nearest relatives. ‘Chimps are evil. They murder each other…they kill and sometimes torture each other to find a better position within the social structure’ (p26). This could be seen as the author’s voice coming through about how he feels about the nature of bullies. This book introduces children ages 7-9 to the amazing science of DNA, genetics, and what makes you you.

From very early on in the play, Cathy is shown to have no remorse about the groups’ actions. She finds the situation ‘exciting’ and ‘better than ordinary life’ (p16). Her excitement grows when she is asked by the TV for an interview. She shows no concern for Adam and the real reason why the cameras are at the TV station and instead focuses on her own gain: " They might even give me money for it, do you think I should ask for money?" (p36).

Molecular Biology of the Cell. 4th edition.

Sarcasm (p36) - Leah can’t believe they have found a man that fits their fake description. Richard: " Why don’t you pop down the station and say, ‘excuse me, but the fat postman with the bad teeth doesn’t actually exist, so why don’t you let him go." A portrait of the Nobel Prize-winning scientist explores the impact of James Watson's The Double Helix on her career and how her team's invention of CRISPR technology enabled revolutionary DNA-editing approaches to fighting disease. Mark :" … so we were sort of, well, alright, taking the piss, sort of. You know what he’s like he was, sort of hanging around" Characters: Distinct, can afford more development. I like that there are no adults in this play. The straight-up intense power-play between the teen characters is fascinating. From a performing perspective, Leah and Phil are such an exciting duo. She makes so many decisions in this play and her monologues really invite the audience to think and feel with her; the dynamic between the two is also complicated and tips over at the end of Part Three.