Drama with a Year Abroad

There’s more to studying drama than being a skilled performer – it’s about being a skilled writer, researcher and collaborator too. As the lines between arts and life are blurring, this multifaceted subject will have you studying a variety of cultures and historical periods, across a range of plays, site-specific performance, live art and socially engaged performance.

Ranked 2nd in the UK for drama in Times Good University Guide 2022, and 1st for research in the UK (REF2021), you know you’re being taught by academics at the forefront of their discipline. You’ll be challenged to make discoveries using a mixture of practice and theory. And with previous projects including women’s theatre in prison, you’ll question how performance can be used in different settings from museums to the street.

Step into the limelight
Providing opportunities for your development is important to us. Benefit from using our studio theatres, rehearsal rooms, cinemas and production suite. Not only that, but our technical team will be on hand to make your ideas happen.

Make the most of our London location with free theatre tickets to the city’s contemporary theatre, good employer links and internship opportunities. We work with companies like Clean Break who were recently at the National Theatre. And we provide creative skills workshops and bespoke careers events throughout the course.

Drama is a great launchpad into a range of careers. Our graduates aren't just performers and actors – they are communications managers, marketing executives, PR professionals and teachers. Or perhaps you’ll follow in the footsteps of graduates who now work for the National Theatre, Netflix and Disney.

Year 1

Your first year includes a combination of practice-based and seminar-based modules:
London/Culture/Performance
Power Plays
Making Theatre and Performance
Performance, Acting, Text
Interventions
Spectatorship: Time, Place, Performance

You can find out more about our modules from Queen Mary’s module directory.

Please note that all modules are subject to change. Further information about modules in Year 2 and 3 of the course can be found on our course webpage.

Assessment typically includes a combination of written and practical assignments, such as essays, performances, presentations, portfolios, programme notes, reviews, feature articles, artist websites, podcasts and dissertations. Some assessment is based around group work, especially for performance projects and presentations.