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DNA
Reviewed by Deborah Klugman
Atwater Village Theatre
Through December 20
RECOMMENDED
In his 1954 Lord of the Flies, William Golding wrote about cruel behavior, herd mentality and the will to power among a community of adolescent boys. The same disturbing themes are present in British playwright Dennis Kelly’s DNA, which premiered in 2007 at the youth-oriented Theatre Connections Festival in London. The play — the inaugural production from Red Cup, a new theater company in town — tracks events subsequent to the likely death of a boy named Adam following the taunts of his bullying classmates.
Two characters anchor the action: Leah (Katie Kerr), a talkative teenager who likes to ruminate on what-ifs, and Phil (Donathan Walters), the taciturn boy she’s enamored with, who tolerates her chattiness but rarely responds, more caught up in the snack he’s having at any given moment than in anything she has to say. Only when Leah threatens to kill herself does Phil react to her with piqued curiosity.
The other scenes in this creepy little comedy transpire among a larger group of youngsters, variously racked with guilt and/or terrorized that their complicity in Adam’s disappearance down a dark shaft may be uncovered. When they turn to Phil for a solution, he swiftly takes charge, implementing a cover-up that brings about murder charges and the incarceration of an innocent man.
This new situation ups the ante even more. Hysteria mounts, and only Leah, unconfident as she is, retains some sanity, tentatively questioning whether remaining silent about the circumstances of Adam’s disappearance is the right thing to do. This requires her to challenge the guy she worships, the enigmatic Phil, now revealed as very possibly a masterminding psychopath.
Tight and trenchant at 75 minutes, DNA is about groupthink, the dearth of morality and the triumph of fear over reason. It’s a terse reminder of the banality of evil and the frailty of human nature. Under Laura Steinroeder’s direction, the message comes across crisply and clearly.
Kerr does fine work as a typically self-involved adolescent who gradually becomes cognizant of malignant exterior forces. Distinctive performances among the supporting ensemble include Allison Henry as a mean little fox on the same page as Phil, and Rod Hernandez-Farella as the cocky kid who initially appears to be the leader of the bullies but, though we never see this, comes apart under the pressure.
What doesn’t work quite as well is Walters, not entirely convincing in his transition from indifferent lover to the group’s callous captain. The performer, whose appealing authenticity salvaged a flawed production I reviewed some months back, exudes a warmth that jars with the coldhearted dude he’s portraying. Some adjustment is in order.
Nicholas Acciani’s scenic design — a backdrop of oddly suitable green slats that made me think of candy canes — and Matthew Gorka’s lighting, with its spots and shadows and splashes of magenta —frame this cautionary tale.
Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave., Atwater Village; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through December 20. www.redcuptheatreco.com. Running time: 75 minutes with no intermission.
