Form & Structure

Understanding the form and structure of DNA is essential for GCSE success — AO2 requires you to analyse how the writer uses structure to create meaning. Kelly's structural choices are deliberate and sophisticated, even though the play itself is short and seemingly simple.

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Overall Structure: Four Sections

DNA is divided into four sections, not the traditional five acts of classical drama. Each section follows the same three-location pattern:

Location	Characters	Function
Street	Leah and Phil (1–3); Richard and Phil (4)	Intimate, reflective, philosophical
Field	The full group	Panic, planning, group dynamics, exposition
Woods	Varies	Action, confrontation, moral crisis

Why Three Locations?

The repetition of the same three settings creates a sense of ritual and inevitability: