Can I just say John, we haven't done anything But if we have done a thing, which we haven't, but if have than we did it together! Whatever we did, we did. Me and Phil, It wasn’t just 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. Finally, Kelly uses his brightest character to get us to contemplate "what is the nature of being human?"

And when Phil becomes leader, he tries to deflect the blame altogether by blaming an imaginary pervert.' Scene 4: Leah does not speak. Phil offers her a sweet and as he puts his arm round her to show affection, she spits out the sweet and leaves in disgust. Phil shouts after her. It's too much for some. John Tate leaves the group. And Brian made to act against his moral instincts, completely loses his sanity.'

Alert

A Chimp will find itself on the outside of a group and before he knows it he's been hounded to death by the others. Sometimes for months! Dennis Kelly 's plays include Debris, Osama the Hero, After the End, Love and Money, Taking Care of Baby, DNA, The Gods Weep, Orphans, The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas and Girls and Boys. For television he created/cocreated Pulling, Utopia and The Third Day. He also wrote the book for Matilda the Musical. Scene 2: Leah is still trying to gain Phil’s attention. This time she talks about the nature of happiness. She shows him a Tupperware container and says it is Jerry. She describes how she has killed him. 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? After a bullying incident goes wrong, the ties which bind a group of teenagers are tested to the limit.'

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? Everything is much better though, I mean really it is! Everyone's working together, they're a lot happier. For years we thought that Chimps were our closest living relative but now they're saying it’s Bonobos. You know, being bullies? Within a group? Or if it’s a constant theme of human history. Does that bother you Phil? 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!Even Leah can only handle so much before she leaves. It might not be bullying, but Phil's torturous silences eventually drive her away.' A group of teenagers do something bad, really bad, then panic and cover the whole thing up. But when they find that their cover-up unites them and brings harmony to their once fractious lives, where is the incentive to put things right. 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. Scene 1: Mark and Jan discuss that someone is ‘dead’ and this throws the audience into the middle of the action. DNA was developed ten years ago as a part of National Theatre’s Connections Scheme, which commissions playwrights to write plays for young performers aged fourteen to eighteen.