A barefoot performer in a torn, stained shirt reaches upward from the centre of a tight circle of students in green blazers under a stark overhead spotlight.

Marlowe Theatre2025

DNA

The Production

Marlowe Academy of Performing Arts students performed Dennis Kelly’s DNA as part of MAPA, the Marlowe Theatre and East Kent Colleges Group training programme for young performers. The archive records a second-year MAPA student production photographed by Steve Gregson.

42 photographs in the curated edit

Commissioned by: Marlowe Academy of Performing Arts (MAPA)
Director: Glenn Tillin
Photography: Steve Gregson

An empty stage is lit in warm amber and smoky overhead beams, with hanging school jackets, tall bamboo-like poles, a tyre and an upturned shopping trolley.

Three performers in white shirts and ties lie asleep or exhausted beside an upturned shopping trolley, bathed in warm orange stage light.

An ensemble in green school blazers is spread across the stage among tall poles, tyres and a shopping trolley beneath dramatic blue and yellow beams.

A performer in a green blazer and striped tie clasps their hands near their chest, looking intently to one side against a dark stage background.

A performer in a green blazer faces a performer in a white shirt and blue headscarf at close range, with another uniformed performer watching behind them.

Several performers in green school blazers occupy different parts of the stage: one gestures, one stands with arms folded, and another sits hunched on a tyre under a bright side beam.

A performer in a green blazer looks upward with hands clenched at their collar, framed closely between tall bamboo-like poles.

An ensemble in green school uniforms stands and sits around the stage while one performer kneels low at centre, under sweeping blue and white stage lights.

Two performers in green blazers and striped ties sit side by side, one staring ahead while the other turns toward them as if speaking.

Students in green blazers gather among tall bamboo poles, with one performer holding an arm around another who bends forward tearfully under warm stage light.

A wide stage view shows performers in school uniform crouched beside clusters of tall bamboo poles, lit by pools of warm amber light against a black backdrop.

A performer in a green school blazer sits alone on a wooden box, looking down at a paper bag with a green plastic bag at their feet, surrounded by bamboo poles under a narrow overhead spotlight.

One performer in a green blazer kneels face-to-face with a barefoot performer in torn, dirt-stained clothes, while other uniformed performers watch from among bamboo poles.

A seated performer in glasses and a green blazer smiles gently while holding a striped tie, lit warmly in an intimate close-up.

Under a single bright spotlight, a performer in ragged clothing stands at the centre while surrounding performers in white shirts kneel, lie, and reach toward them.

A performer in torn, stained clothing stands speaking or singing beneath angled stage beams, with uniformed performers watching dimly behind bamboo poles.

A central performer in ragged clothes is encircled by kneeling and standing performers whose hands reach toward their body, framed by blue-lit bamboo poles.

A lone performer in a dark blazer sits on the red-lit stage with hands clasped around one knee, gazing upward into the surrounding darkness.

Two performers in green blazers sit quietly in the foreground among bamboo poles while a group in white shirts behind them hold the poles and look upward into bright stage light.

Two performers in green school blazers sit centre stage while others in white shirts and ties crouch and reach toward them amid bamboo poles and dramatic warm lighting.

A lone performer in a pale shirt stands barefoot under a tight overhead spotlight, surrounded by an ensemble in green blazers watching from the shadows.

A performer in a green blazer and striped tie leans forward with one arm flung wide, addressing a headbanded performer who stands with folded arms beside bamboo poles.

Two performers in green blazers clasp hands in a close, tense exchange, one wearing glasses and speaking with open-palmed urgency.

A wide stage view shows performers in green school uniforms spread among bamboo poles, a tyre and a crate under blue and white beams of light.

Under cool blue lighting, a seated performer in a green blazer looks down while others stand apart behind, including a white-shirted performer gazing upward.

A performer in a white shirt stands in the foreground with hands clasped, while four performers in green blazers cluster behind him, watching with concern in blue light.

A headbanded performer in a green blazer looks sharply to the side, with another uniformed performer blurred behind between bamboo poles.

A performer in a green blazer stands in a warm spotlight with one arm extended, while others crouch along the stage holding tall bamboo poles.

A performer in a green blazer raises a hand near another performer’s face as several uniformed performers watch from the dimly lit background.

On a smoky stage lit by bright blue spotlights, a dishevelled performer kneels facing a school-uniformed performer beside a tyre while others watch among tall bamboo-like poles.

A kneeling performer in a stained white shirt reaches toward a crouching performer in a green school blazer, with a tyre and vertical poles behind them.

Under blue overhead light, a barefoot performer in a torn, stained white shirt stands centre stage while others crouch low around the set.

Several performers crouch and reach toward a distressed central performer in a stained shirt, creating a tight, urgent cluster under dramatic blue lighting.

A wide stage scene shows a central performer pointing outward as an ensemble in school uniforms and white shirts gathers among poles, tyres and smoky blue light.

Close-up of a performer with tousled hair, red stage blood on their forehead and a stained white shirt, looking anxiously to the side.

In a pool of cool overhead light, performers in school uniforms stand and sit around a shopping trolley, poles and a tyre on a dark stage.

A performer with a backpack stands with their back to the audience facing a line of crouching performers between tall poles under angled spotlights.

Two performers in green school blazers sit in the foreground while others in white shirts lean in from behind the vertical poles, watching intently.

An ensemble reaches toward two seated performers in green blazers, their outstretched hands catching warm stage light between the bamboo-like poles.

On a blue-lit stage, students in dark school uniforms gather tensely as one sits on a tyre while another crouches close in concern.

A student in a blazer and beanie stands alone under blue spotlights, with other uniformed performers grouped around tyres and tall poles behind them.

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Emilia

Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Theatre2025

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