Phil

• Phil - Introduction:


  • First introduced in act 1, scene two in a field with Leah
  • Initially its not easy to think about what to know about Phil as he remains silent through the entire scene when Leah asks him questions but he fails to respond and instead he just eats an ice cream.
  • The same thing happens again in act 2, scene two where Leah is talking about Bonobos and Phil "silently eats a packet of starburst"
  • This is repeated again when Leah tells Phil she is leaving and Phil remains largely silent as he prepares a waffle.
• Phil as a leader KQ:

  • He speaks for the first time in act 1, scene three and says "Cathy, Danny, Mark, you go to Adams house, you wait until his mum's out, you break in"
  • Immediately takes up the leadership role
  • Use of imperatives shows that Phil has stepped up and taken control.
• Phil as a leader - power:

  • More noticeable in other acts as he was silent throughout the first scene he was introduced.
  • Power is the ability to control or direct others.
  • Phil shows his power in the earlier scenes by refusing to engage in conversation with Leah. This leaves Leah desperate for attention when continually asking question like "What are you thinking?" and "Is it me?"
  • Phil realises the best way to assert power and dominance over Leah is to stay silent.
  • Phil realises to best way to assert power and dominance over the gang is to come up with a plan and decisively direct others.
• Phil as a leader - Intelligent:

  • His idea of "Don't touch the jumper" shows an understanding of criminal investigative procedure.
  • He is able to come up with a plan to turn suspicion about Adams disappearance away from the school students.
  • The fact that his plan had worked as he intended also shows his intelligence.
• Phil - Act two:

  • Behaviour becomes more overtly sinister when he tells Brian to go to the police and identify the postman there holding as a suspect.
  • When Brian refuses, Phil threatens Brian by telling him: "We'll take you up the grille now, we will get you by the arms, by the legs. We will throw rocks at you until you drop... You'll land on Adams dead corpse and You'll rot together."
• Phil - Stage directions:

  • Phil is rather silent but his stage directions tells the audience important things about him.
  • In act 3, scene three: Phil tells Lou to go home who "Stands there, unsure" while "Phil goes to her. Places his hand on her shoulder, smiles, warm, reassuring."
  • This is out of character for Phil but he uses his intelligence to manipulate Lou.
• Phil's orders:


  • Everyone follows Phil's orders when he wants to kill Brian "for real" now apart from Leah.
  • To make Leah listen to him and do what he told her, he just ignores her when "Phil just walks away."
• Phil as a person:

  • Emotionally cold throughout the play - Could be seen as a psychopath.
  • When he hears how Adam was tortured, "Phil puts his coke carefully on the ground."
  • The adverb "carefully" suggests a cold and emotionless action. Phil seems unbothered at the awful events that have taken place.
• Phil as a person:

  • After he comes up with the elaborate plan about the postman, the rest of the group are stunned when "they stare at him, open mouthed."
  • However Phil doesn't react with any sort of emotion while "He bends down. Picks up his coke. Starts to drink his coke."
• Phil as a person:

  • Phil can be seen as desensitised when Leah is strangling herself until she goes red but Phil just "looks on."
  • This can be seen when Leah "is in considerable pain... Lying prone on the floor."
  • However, even after seeing this, Phil still "opens his crisps and starts to eat them."
• Phil as a person:

  • Phil's lack of emotion is significant when Leah tells him "I sometimes think you're not human" when Leah shows Phil her dead pet, Jerry having just killed it with a screwdriver and "Phil shrugs."
• Phil as a person:

  • In act 3, scene two: Leah asks Phil "How do you feel?"
  • And "Phil turns to her / Considers. / For a long time. / Opens his mouth to answer. / Stops. / Shrugs and goes back to his waffle."
  • Phil is acting as if he can feel no emotion or is unable to assess his own emotional state.
• Phil - Psychopathy:


  • Lack of conscience - Phil has no problem in lying about what happened to Adam or ordering his murder at the end of the play.
  • Pathological lying - Phil is the one who creates the elaborate lie about the postman.
  • Manipulative behaviour - Phil's silent treatment towards Leah, threats of violence towards Brian and warmth towards Lou are examples of Phil trying to manipulate others.
  • Superficial charm - Phil's actions with Lou where he goes to her and places his hand on her shoulder and smiles, warm, reassuring.
• Leah as a foil for Phil:

  • A foil is a character who contrasts with another character to highlight qualities of the other character.
  • eg. Leah's constant talking in the field highlights Phil's silence.
  • Leah's emotional outburst when Phil decides to kill Adam for real highlights the lack of emotion Phil has.
• Phil at the end of the play:

  • In act 3, scene four: Leah leaves Phil, reversing the roles and Phil calls out for Leah as she fails to respond. "Leah, Leah?"
  • So far in the play, any scene with Leah and Phil in the field, Leah is doing all the talking and Phil is mostly or fully ignoring her.
  • Ending this scene with the complete opposite, heightens the impact and for once Phil isn't in control and supposedly looses his power.
• Phil at the end of the play:

  • Act 4, scene two: Richard joins Phil in the field and the audience leans that Phil has left the group and spends all of the time sitting in the field.
  • The stage directions inform us that "Phil is not eating" which is the first time the audience can see Phil without Leah and without food, indicating how Phil has changed as a character.
  • Phil's relationship with Leah is never clearly explained in the play, but Leah's absence has a huge impact on Phil.